Clinical consequences of 2'-deoxycoformycin treatment in patients with refractory adult T-cell leukaemia.

Five patients from the Kyushu area in Japan with adult T-cell leukaemia (ATL) refractory to conventional chemotherapeutic agents were treated with 5 mg/m2 of the adenosine deaminase inhibitor, 2'-deoxycoformycin (DCF), intravenously (i.v.) for 3 consecutive days, followed by 5 mg/m2 i.v. weekly. Two patients showed a good response, and three were resistant to DCF. One patient with ATL receiving DCF had a continuous remission without further therapy. Another patient in the terminal stage received three daily injections of 7.5 mg of DCF. The most prominent change was the drop in the leucocyte count. The cell count fell from 116.4 X 10(9)/l to 2.0 X 10(9)/l on day 7. The only adverse effects of DCF therapy were gastrointestinal toxicity, nausea and vomiting. These results suggest that DCF may be a valuable drug for treating refractory ATL.