Low Doses of Cytarabine in the Treatment of Myelodysplastic Syndrome and Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Abstract

To the Editor: The myelodysplastic syndromes are a heterogenous group of clonal bone-marrow stem-cell disorders characterized by peripheral cytopenias in the presence of a normocellular or hypercellular marrow, together with distinctive morphologic features.¹ Peripheral cytopenias lead to the potentially fatal complications of infection and hemorrhage, and in addition acute myeloid leukemia develops in a high proportion of patients.² Attempts to abolish the leukemic clones in such patients are usually unsuccessful because of their resistance to the currently available chemotherapy schedules. Furthermore, the myelodysplastic syndromes occur most commonly in the elderly, who are less able to withstand the prolonged periods of . . .