title: 5-Azacytidine in the Treatment of Intermediate-2 and High-risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes and Acute Myeloid Leukemia. A Five-year Experience with 44 Consecutive Patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The hypomethylating agent 5-azacytidine has been the standard-of-care for patients with higher-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) during the past few years. Its efficacy has been proven in large clinical trials, and its safety has been shown to be superior to that of conventional treatments.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a retrospective study on the efficacy and safety of 5-azacytidine in 44 consecutive patients with MDS and acute myeloid leukemia treated with 5-azacytidine during a 63-month period. We recorded the clinical and laboratory characteristics of the patients and we analyzed the response to treatment, overall survival and adverse events during treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median overall survival was 13 months, while serious adverse events consisted mostly of neutropenic infections.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We reached two possibly valuable conclusions: Younger patients (<73 years), as well as patients receiving treatment at longer than 28-day intervals had a significantly higher overall survival.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Internal Medicine, Hematology Unit, Laikon General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece pandiamantopoulos@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Panagiotis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Diamantopoulos
authors.affiliation: First Department of Internal Medicine, Hematology Unit, Laikon General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zervakis
authors.affiliation: First Department of Internal Medicine, Hematology Unit, Laikon General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Vasiliki
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Papadopoulou
authors.affiliation: First Department of Internal Medicine, Hematology Unit, Laikon General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Theodoros
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iliakis
authors.affiliation: First Department of Internal Medicine, Hematology Unit, Laikon General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Fani
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kalala
authors.affiliation: First Department of Internal Medicine, Hematology Unit, Laikon General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Nefeli
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Giannakopoulou
authors.affiliation: First Department of Internal Medicine, Hematology Unit, Laikon General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Niki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rougala
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Hematology, G. Gennimatas District General Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Athanassios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Galanopoulos
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Hematology, G. Gennimatas District General Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Panagiotis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bakarakos
authors.affiliation: First Department of Internal Medicine, Hematology Unit, Laikon General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Eleni
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Variami
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Histocompatibility, Laikon General Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Aglaia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dimitrakopoulou
authors.affiliation: First Department of Internal Medicine, Hematology Unit, Laikon General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Nora-Athina
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Viniou
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001374:Azacitidine / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009190:Myelodysplastic Syndromes / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D001374:Azacitidine
keywords: 5-azacytidine; acute myeloid leukemia; myelodysplastic syndrome