Retrospective study on the combination of desferrioxamine and deferasirox for treatment of iron-overloaded thalassemic patients: first evidence of more than 2 years.

Some iron-overloaded patients have problems being treated with iron chelators. We therefore retrospectively studied 7 iron-overloaded thalassemic patients. Within the same week, patients received 20 to 30 mg/kg/d of oral deferasirox for 4 consecutive days, then a subcutaneous infusion of 20 to 40 mg/kg/d of desferrioxamine for 8 to 12 hours on the next 3 consecutive days. The median treatment duration was 25 months (range, 8 to 32). All of the patients showed a decrease in serum ferritin without any side effects. The protocol, combining deferasirox and desferrioxamine in sequence, was effective and safe: more cases should be studied.