Treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes with hematopoietic growth factors.

Clinical trials with hematopoietic growth factors (granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor [GM-CSF], granulocyte colony-stimulating factor [G-CSF], interleukin-3, or erythropoietin) have been performed on patients with myelodysplastic syndromes. Absolute neutrophil counts can be readily raised to within the normal range by treatment with GM-CSF or G-CSF. Increases in platelets and hemoglobin have been reported after treatment with interleukin-3 and erythropoietin, respectively. Cytogenetic and molecular genetic analyses have demonstrated that both normal and malignant precursor cells are stimulated by cytokine therapy.