title: Acute myeloblastic leukemia achieving complete remission with amifostine alone.
abstract: Amifostine, a phosphorylated thiol-amine, is known as a cytoprotective agent especially for cisplatin containing chemotherapies. Apart from the cytoprotective role, Amifostine could also be used in the treatment of hematologic malignancies such as myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML), as a treatment option or for potentiating the effects of cytotoxic agents. We tried to use Amifostine in a patient with AML, which did not respond to conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy and aimed to publish the results. The patient was a 77-year-old male patient, he was diagnosed as AML by peripheral blood smear and bone marrow aspiration. Treatment commenced with low dose cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C) but the therapy should have ceased due to patient intolerance. The patient refused further therapy and he was offered to have Amifostine treatment. Amifostine was administered 200 mg/m2 three times a week, with ciprofloxacin, pentoxifyllin and dexamethasone. Dramatic response was obtained after 8 weeks of administration. Blast rate was reduced from 35 to 7% in bone marrow aspiration; pancytopenia was restored to normal levels. This remission was maintained through 8 more weeks. Amifostine treatment was restarted after he relapsed but this time he did not respond to the treatment and died of gastrointestinal bleeding on the 8th week of treatment.
authors: Department of Medical Oncology, Gülhane Military Medical Academy, Haydarpasa Teaching Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. b_orhan@yahoo.com
authors: Ahmet
authors: A
authors: Ozturk
authors: Bulent
authors: B
authors: Orhan
authors: Orhan
authors: O
authors: Turken
authors: Durmus
authors: D
authors: Etiz
authors: Mustafa
authors: M
authors: Yaylaci
authors: Necdet
authors: N
authors: Uskent
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D004999:Amifostine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000008:administration & dosage; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D006801:Humans; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D012008:Recurrence; D012074:Remission Induction / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D004999:Amifostine