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- Title
Subcutaneous Recombinant Human Erythropoietin for the Treatment of Anemia in Myelodysplastic Syndromes.
- Authors
Ghio, Riccardo; Balleari, Enrico; Ballestrero, Alberto; Gatti, Anna Maria; Mareni, Cristina; Massa, Giulio; Patrone, Franco; Sessarego, Mario; Timitilli, Silvana
- Abstract
Recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) was administered subcutaneously to 13 anemic (Hb < 10 g/dl) patients with myelodysplasia (MDS). rhEPO was given 3 times a week at doses of 75-250 U/kg body weight, over a maximum period of 24 weeks. Five patients (38%) showed a response to rhEPO treatment. rhEPO was well tolerated and without relevant side effects throughout the study. All responding patients had low but detectable pretreatment circulating erythroid progenitor cells (BFU-E) and the response to rhEPO was associated with a significant increase in BFU-E (p < 0.01); concentrations of serum transferrin receptor (TfR) also consistently rose in all responding patients. Baseline erythropoietin (EPO) concentrations did not significantly differ between responders and nonresponders, although 4 out of the 5 responders had relatively low levels of EPO. In conclusion, subcutaneous rhEPO administration appears to be an effective treatment of anemia in a substantial subset of patients with MDS. Relatively low baseline EPO concentrations, detectable pretreatment circulating BFU-E and an early increase in the serum concentrations of TfR seem to be criteria for predicting response to rhEPO in patients with MDS. Copyright © 1993 S. Karger AG, Basel
- Publication
Acta Haematologica, 1993, Vol 90, Issue 2, p58
- ISSN
0001-5792
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1159/000204377