Abstract
Deoxycoformycin (DCF) is an inhibitor of adenosine deaminase (ADA). Twenty-one courses of DCF were administered to 13 patients ranging in age from 15 to 78 yr. Eight patients had T-cell disorders, and 5 patients had non-T-cell malignancies. The i.v. bolus dose was escalated from 5 to 30 mg/sq m/day, and the duration of the courses ranged from 1 to 5 days. The DCF plasma half-life ranged from 4.9 to 6.2 hr and was independent of dose. The dose-limiting toxicities involved the central nervous system (CNS) and the kidneys. Other toxicities included bronchitis, decreases in hematocrit, arthralgias, and myalgias. Mortality was encountered in 3 patients. These toxic effects may have been secondary to the accumulation of the metabolites adenosine and deoxyadenosine. Deoxyadenosine and adenosine were both detectable in plasma (10-6 M) and in urine (10-3 M). Two partial remissions were observed: one in a patient with T-cell ALL and another in a patient with mycosis fungoides. Minimal responses characterized by either declines in peripheral blast counts or partial resolution of adenopathy were observed in 5 other patients. No responses were observed in 6 patients. These observations suggest that DCF is effective in the treatment of T-cell lymphoid malignancies.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 91-96 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Blood |
Volume | 58 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1981 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biochemistry
- Immunology
- Hematology
- Cell Biology