Ethyol amifostine data

European researchers presented data from a Phase II study of cisplatin with or without Ethyol in patients with advanced head and neck cancer. As detailed at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Philadelphia, 57 patients were evaluable for response and toxicity, and 6 patients evaluable for toxicity.

In the cisplatin arm, 8 patients had treatment delays because of bone marrow toxicity versus 2 in the arm that included Ethyol (p=0.04). Thombocytopenia occurred in 6 patients in the cisplatin arm versus 1 in the Ethyol arm. The researchers concluded that Ethyol has a protective effect on hematologic and non-hematologic toxicities of cisplatin. ...