Forty one patients with hairy cell leukemia (HCL) were treated with 2-chloro-deoxyadenosine (2-CdA) administered in various schedules. Complete remission (CR) was achieved in 31 (76%) patients and partial remission (PR) in 9 (22%). The mean duration of remission (CR + PR) was 25.2 months (range 9-45 months). One patient did not respond to therapy. Twelve out of 16 patients (75%) achieved CR after 5-day intravenous infusions of 2-CdA and 19 out of 25 patients (76%) after 7-day courses. In 19 out of 23 patients (82.6%) CR was achieved after intermittent 2-hour infusions and in 12 out of 18 (66.7%) after continuous 24-hour infusion. The differences were not statistically significant. Side effects of 2-CdA were similar in both groups except for infections, which were less frequently observed in the group treated for 5 days. The results of our study suggest that 2-CdA can be effectively administered to patients with HCL using 5-day courses and a 2-hour daily infusion.

The purpose of our study was to determine the efficacy of 2-chlorodeoxyadenosine (2-CdA) administered in 2-hour intravenous infusions in previously treated patients with low grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (LGNHL). We treated 94 LGNHL patients with 2-CdA at a dosage of 0.12 mg/kg/24h in 2-hour intravenous infusion for 5 consecutive days. The treatment consisted of from 1 to 7 courses (median 3), repeated usually at monthly intervals. All patients were refractory to or relapsed after standard chemotherapy. Of these 94 patients 78 (83%) had clinical stage IV of the disease. Complete response (CR) was obtained in 12 (12.8%) and partial response (PR) in 36 (38.3%) giving an overall response rate of 51.1%. In 12 (12.8%) grade 4 thrombocytopenia with haemorrhagic diathesis was noted, grade 4 neutropenia was observed in 12 (12.8%) and infections complicated the course of treatment in 38 (40.4%) patients. 2-CdA treatment was the cause of death of 3 patients. The results of our study show that 2-CdA given in 2-hour infusions is an effective agent in advanced, heavily pretreated patients with LGNHL.

(1) Isolated organs of rabbits (kidney, liver, spleen and lungs) were perfused with rabbit blood. Experimental conditions of hypoxia and full oxygenation were applied. (2) It could be shown that under these conditions only the kidney produces the erythropoietic factor.

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