title: Use of amifostine in the treatment of recurrent solid tumours in children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Preclinical and clinical evaluation of amifostine (AMI) administration in conjunction with systemic chemotherapy supports its role as a cytoprotective agent of normal tissues without loss of impairing the antitumour effectiveness of chemotherapeutic agents. Since only a limited number of clinical studies has been performed using AMI in paediatric pts with malignancies we investigated the protective effect of AMI against carboplatin-induced myelotoxicity and nephrotoxicity in a paediatric group of patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  AMI was administered in 18/28 paediatric patients with reccurent solid tumours along with ICE (ifosfamide, carboplatin, etoposide) chemotherapy. A significant (p<0.05) decrease in GFR was observed in the control group whereas it was maintained at pre-treatment levels in the AMI-treated group. Leukopenia and neutropenia were significantly (p<0.05) less in AMI-group. No protective effect of AMI was shown concerning thrombocytopenia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  AMI was generally well tolerated at the dose of 740 mg/m2. Side effects including nausea, vomiting, hypotension, flushing and rigors were moderate and reversible and the interruption of infusion was never required.
authors: Department of Pediatric Oncology, Hippokration General Hospital of Thessaloniki, and Department of Nuclear Medicine, Aristotle University School of Medicine, Thessaloniki, Greece. paedonc@ippokration.gr
authors: V
authors: V
authors: Sidi
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Arsos
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Papakonstantinou
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Hatzipantelis
authors: I
authors: I
authors: Fragandrea
authors: N
authors: N
authors: Gombakis
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Koliouskas