Locoregional intrasplenic chemotherapy for hypersplenism in myelofibrosis.
A 79-year-old patient with post-polycythaemic myelofibrosis presented with severe hypersplenism. After splenic artery catheterization, cytosine arabinoside was given intrasplenically from November 1999 to March 2000 for 5 d/month at 10 mg/m2 and increased each month by 10 mg/m2. It was then administered by continuous infusion until June 2000, starting at 20 mg/m2/d and tapering by 5 mg/m2 every 2 weeks to a final daily dose of 5 mg/m2/d. The drug was then stopped. The spleen had decreased to one third of the initial volume. Clinical conditions and haematological indices improved substantially. Intrasplenic therapy could be a new therapeutic tool for hypersplenism in chronic idiopathic and post-myeloproliferative myelofibrosis.
Camba
L
L
Department of Haematology, Ospedale S. Raffaele, Milan, Italy. l.camba@hsr.it
Aldrighetti
L
L
Ciceri
F
F
Bernardi
M
M
Marktel
S
S
Angeli
E
E
Giacomelli
M
M
D000368:Aged; D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003561:Cytarabine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D006971:Hypersplenism / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology*; D007261:Infusions, Intra-Arterial; D008297:Male; D055728:Primary Myelofibrosis / Q000150:complications*; D013157:Splenic Artery
D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; D003561:Cytarabine