Background: Radiotherapy--even of small volumes--can decrease leukocyte counts. We examined whether the radio-protector amifostine can reduce this hematotoxicity.
Patients and methods: Twenty-six patients (Table 1) undergoing radiotherapy for squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck were evaluated. All were given 60 (to 70) Gy 5 x 2 Gy per week in standard radiation techniques. Thirteen patients are randomized to receive 200 mg/m2 amifostine i.v., 30 minutes before radiation. Blood counts and differentials were determined before, during and following radiotherapy. Differences of these parameters are calculated and compared by t-test.
Results: The blood hemoglobin and the thrombocyte levels did not change during the radiotherapy course, neither for the amifostine treated, nor the control patients. Similarly the leukocyte counts of amifostine treated patients did not change during irradiation. The control patients, however, had a decrease of leukocytes from 8.4 to 6.0 x 10(3)/microliter, p = 0.03 (Table 2), and the reduction of the neutrophilic granulocyte count was more impressive for these patients.
Conclusion: In this explorative study amifostine diminished radiation induced leukocyte toxicity.