Therapy-related myelodysplastic syndrome developed by dacarbazine, nimustine hydrochloride and vincristine sulfate (DAV) therapy for patient with malignant melanoma.

Therapy-related myelodysplastic syndrome (t-MDS) is mostly attributed to chemotherapeutic agents of alkylating agents. Few studies have evaluated the late effects of chemotherapy for malignant melanoma (MM). To evaluate whether dacarbazine, nimustine hydrochloride and vincristine sulfate (DAV) therapy for MM related to t-MDS or not, a retrospective analysis was performed. We conducted a retrospective case-control study in a cohort of the 217 patients diagnosed with MM from 1989-2007 in Aichi Medical University Department of Dermatology and Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine Department of Dermatology. One hundred and fifty-five of the 217 patients with MM were prospectively followed after DAV therapy or with or without local injection of β-interferon, of whom two patients developed t-MDS. Cytogenetic abnormalities were found in two of the 35 patients by chromosome banding method - leukemia (G-Banding). The karyotypes were found in the chromosome of -5, deletion (5), addition (7) and 7q-. In conclusion, DAV therapy should be used carefully for older patients with MM after satisfactory operation.