Decitabine deals with myelodysplastic syndromes

Decitabine [Dacogen], a deoxycytidine and cytarabine derivative, is effective in the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), according to final results from a phase III study presented at the 46th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) [San Diego, US; December 2004]. Results from this study showed that the addition of decitabine to supportive care produced higher response rates and delayed progression to acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and death, compared with supportive care alone. Improvements in quality of life (QOL) and the proportion of patients who were transfusion-independent were also observed among decitabine recipients. Other studies presented at the meeting showed that low-dose decitabine was active in patients with intermediate and high risk MDS, and that decitabine was effective when used to re-treat patients who had previously responded to the drug.