Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0027947 (neutropenia)
 17,527 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Ninety-nine patients with advanced epidemic Kaposi's sarcoma were treated with bleomycin-containing regimens: 30 received bleomycin and vincristine (BV) and 69 received doxorubicin, bleomycin, and vincristine. Treatment regimens were well tolerated, with response rates ranging from 76% to 81%. However, neutropenia developed even with the relatively nonmyelotoxic BV regimen. Twenty-eight of the 99 patients (28%) were evaluated for pulmonary function prior to, during, and after completion of combination chemotherapy to assess pulmonary toxicity commonly associated with bleomycin. The carbon monoxide diffusion capacity (DLCO) was the only measurement that showed significant changes prior to and after completion of therapy (P = .0003). Moreover, patients receiving more than 100 cumulative units of bleomycin experienced significantly greater declines in DLCO measurements than those receiving lower cumulative doses (P = .0067). No patient, however, developed clinically significant pulmonary toxicity attributable to bleomycin, with individual cumulative bleomycin doses ranging from 10 to 313 U (median, 112 U). We conclude that bleomycin is active and safe in the treatment of Kaposi's sarcoma, and close monitoring of pulmonary function is warranted with cumulative doses exceeding 100 U.
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PMID:Treatment of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-related Kaposi's sarcoma using bleomycin-containing combination chemotherapy regimens. 138 42

Etoposide has been used in the treatment of a wide variety of neoplasms, including small cell lung cancer. Kaposi's sarcoma, testicular cancer, acute leukemia, and lymphoma. Its current therapeutic use is limited by myelosuppression, particularly neutropenia. Pharmacodynamic studies of etoposide show that this toxicity can be modeled using a modified Hill equation, and that the dose intensity of etoposide can be successfully increased by adaptive control using this model. Significant influences on the degree of myelosuppression include pretreatment leukocyte count, performance status, extent of prior erythrocyte transfusions, and serum albumin level. In the past 5 years, interest has developed in a distinct subset of acute nonlymphocytic leukemia that is associated with prior exposure to etoposide. This syndrome has been described in several studies, and is characterized by the lack of a preleukemic phase, M4 or M5 morphology, and distinct translocations involving the chromosome 11q23 region.
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PMID:New perspectives on the toxicity of etoposide. 149 30

The recombinant cytokines are increasingly important therapeutic agents for patients with AIDS. Recombinant interferon-alpha has demonstrated antitumor and antiretroviral activities in patients with Kaposi's sarcoma. Limited studies with interferon-beta suggest that it also has antitumor effects in patients with Kaposi's sarcoma, but interferon-gamma appears to be ineffective in controlling this tumor. The hematopoietic growth factors, including erythropoietin, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), have been evaluated in several populations of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals. The combination of G-CSF and recombinant human erythropoietin completely reversed the zidovudine-induced neutropenia of AIDS patients but was only partially effective in reversing anemia. In several clinical trials, GM-CSF induced marked increases in leukocyte counts and improved neutrophil function in some AIDS patients. In severely immunocompromised patients with disease caused by HIV who were receiving therapy with either G-CSF or GM-CSF, opportunistic infections continued to occur despite increases in circulating white blood cell counts. Recombinant cytokines may be used in the future in AIDS patients as adjunctive treatment with myelosuppressive antibiotics and chemotherapeutic drugs, as a possible means of enhancing host defense, or as agents of immune reconstitution.
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PMID:Use of recombinant interferons and hematopoietic growth factors in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus. 196 13

A combination of oral zidovudine (250 mg twice daily) and subcutaneous interferon-alpha (10 x 10(6) units daily) was evaluated for clinical, antiretroviral, and immunological efficacy and for side effects in 17 patients with AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma. Fifteen patients were evaluable. During the study period of 12 weeks, tumor responses were complete in two patients and partial in two patients (27% major response rate). Minimal responses were seen in two patients (40% overall response rate). An anti-HIV effect (reduction of serum p24 antigen by 70% or more) was observed in seven of ten evaluable patients who were initially antigenemic. CD4 lymphocyte counts remained unchanged. In six patients who had either a tumor response or a marked decline of HIV antigenemia, the treatment was continued between 12 and 59 weeks beyond the study period. Two of four patients with tumor regression at 12 weeks had an additional tumor response in this period despite prior dose reduction of interferon due to toxicity. Late progression of KS was eventually observed in four of six patients on prolonged treatment. The responsiveness of Kaposi's sarcoma seen in this study in patients with low CD4 counts and prior constitutional symptoms (fever, weight loss) was unexpected and needs further confirmation by larger patient groups. Dose-limiting toxicities were bone marrow depression (severe anemia in four and neutropenia with anemia in two patients), subjective adverse experiences (fever, fatigue, myalgia; four patients) and both (two patients).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Combined treatment with zidovudine and lymphoblast interferon-alpha in patients with HIV-related Kaposi's sarcoma. 190 99

alpha-Interferon (IFN alpha) blocks replication of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 in vitro by interfering with the release of mature virions. Clinical trials have addressed the in vivo effects of IFN alpha, both alone and in combination with other agents, in a variety of patients at all stages of HIV-1 infection. Patients with late stages of HIV-1 infection (CD4 counts under 100) show few positive results following treatment with IFN alpha. Patients with earlier stages of HIV infection, however, may benefit from treatment with this agent. Several clinical trials have demonstrated the activity of interferon in the treatment of patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, Kaposi's sarcoma, and CD4 counts over 200. In these trials, response rates of approximately 40% have been reported, with the probability of response directly correlated with the level of CD4 cells. These antitumor effects have been associated with declines in the circulating levels of the HIV-1 core antigen p24. alpha-Interferon activity has also been studied in patients concomitantly receiving zidovudine. In these studies, neutropenia, reversible with the concomitant administration of granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor, has been the most common dose-limiting toxicity. Both the antitumor and antiviral activities of combination therapy appear to be at least as good as those observed when single agents are used. Controlled clinical trials are currently under way to evaluate the role of interferon therapy, both alone and in combination with zidovudine, in patients with early HIV infection.
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PMID:The role of alpha-interferon in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection. 194 29

A number of studies have illustrated the effectiveness of hematopoietic growth factors in managing treatment-related cytopenias in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. One of these factors, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, has been shown to restore absolute neutrophil counts in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and Kaposi's sarcoma receiving a combination of zidovudine (AZT) and interferon alfa. A combination of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor and erythropoietin has also been demonstrated to alleviate both neutropenia and anemia in patients with advanced AIDS or AIDS-related complex receiving zidovudine. Hematopoietic growth factors, in combination with each other and with antiretroviral agents, thus have an important supportive role to play in the treatment of patients with HIV disease.
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PMID:Antiretroviral therapy and immunomodulators in patients with AIDS. 201 46

Twenty-six patients with poor-risk Kaposi's sarcoma and AIDS were treated with epirubicin 90 mg/m2 intravenously every 3 weeks. One patient achieved complete response and 10 achieved partial response (overall response rate 42.3%). The median time to treatment failure was 22 weeks. The dose-limiting toxicity was neutropenia.
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PMID:A phase II study of 4'-epirubicin in the treatment of poor-risk Kaposi's sarcoma and AIDS. 205 70

The multifactorial etiology of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), which is seen primarily in men, includes genetic predisposition and immunosuppression. Recently, the KS seen in association with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has been shown to be mediated by the production of certain growth factors. HIV per se may also play an etiologic role via its tat gene. Therapeutic options include irradiation for local or cosmetic control, interferon-alpha, combinations of antiretroviral agents and interferon-alpha, and chemotherapy. The use of antineoplastic agents, either individually or in combination, in cases of advanced disease has been somewhat successful, but resultant immunosuppression and neutropenia may predispose patients to further infection, thereby adversely affecting survival. AIDS-related lymphoma, a late manifestation of HIV infection, often presents with widespread extranodal disease; the median survival time in all series has been approximately 6 months. Two-thirds of patients may have central nervous system involvement at some time in the course of illness. Intensive chemotherapeutic regimens are associated with an increased likelihood of opportunistic infection and do not prolong survival. Combinations of antineoplastic agents given at low doses for short periods may be associated with long-term remissions.
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PMID:Therapeutic approaches to neoplasms in AIDS. 223 35

Thirteen men with a median age of 37 (range 28 to 46) years who had extensive Kaposi's sarcoma associated with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) were treated with combination chemotherapy and alpha-interferon. Four patients had stage III disease and nine had stage IV disease (one with pulmonary and eight with gastrointestinal involvement). Treatment consisted of monthly courses of actinomycin D, 1 mg/m2, and vinblastine sulfate, 6 mg/m2, given intravenously on day 1, bleomycin, 10 mg/m2 given intravenously on days 1 and 8, and human lymphoblastoid (alpha-) interferon, 10 million U/m2 given subcutaneously three times a week for six doses starting on day 14. Forty-one treatment cycles (median 3, range 1 to 12) were administered. The median granulocyte and platelet counts on day 14 before the start of interferon therapy were 600 X 10(9)/L and 134 X 10(9)/L respectively; the counts did not fall further during interferon therapy. There was no difference in T-cell subsets, 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase level or results of blastogenesis studies after interferon therapy. Four patients required admission to hospital for neutropenia-associated fever. A complete response (of 24 weeks' duration) was seen in one patient and a partial response (of 14 to 44 weeks' duration) in four. One patient had a mixed response, with regression of skin involvement but progression of pulmonary disease. The median length of survival was 48 (range 4 to 143) weeks. Eleven patients died of progressive Kaposi's sarcoma, one of lymphoma and one of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. The results suggest that this form of therapy is not appropriate for patients with Kaposi's sarcoma associated with AIDS.
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PMID:Combination chemotherapy and alpha-interferon in the treatment of Kaposi's sarcoma associated with acquired immune deficiency syndrome. 245 77

Clinical trials of recombinant biologic agents have resulted in new treatment options for hematologic, oncologic, and cardiologic disorders. These agents include the interferons, recombinant human erythropoietin (r-HuEPO), colony-stimulating factors (CSFs), interleukins (ILs), and tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA). Interferon alfa has proven efficacious in treating certain hematologic malignancies and solid tumors and has recently been indicated for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related Kaposi's sarcoma. Treatment with r-HuEPO has relieved the chronic anemia of hemodialysis patients. Recombinant human granulocyte CSF (G-CSF) or human granulocyte macrophage CSF (GM-CSF) has been used to treat patients after autologous bone marrow transplantation for lymphoid or solid malignancies, resulting in increased production of granulocytes and platelets. G-CSF and GM-CSF have been used to treat aplastic anemia, myelodysplastic syndromes, chemotherapy-induced neutropenia, and neutropenia associated with AIDS. In patients with evolving myocardial infarction, the recombinant agent t-PA has proved more efficacious than streptokinase in terms of average coronary artery patency rates and survival rates in patients with evolving myocardial infarction. While these agents all offer promising therapeutic advances, the expenses associated with developing and testing biotherapeutic substances have resulted in high treatment costs. Since in many instances investigational therapy is the best treatment option available, physicians, patients, the pharmaceutical industry, the government, and insurance carriers must work together to ensure that these therapies are financially available to those in need.
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PMID:New directions in hematologic biotherapy. 247 3


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