Bleomycin-detectable iron in serum from leukaemic patients before and after chemotherapy. Therapeutic implications for treatment with oxidant-generating drugs.

Patients with acute myeloid leukaemia show elevated plasma iron and, in 2/6 cases studied, low-molecular-mass iron complexes capable of stimulating radical reactions were present in the plasma. Shortly after the onset of chemotherapy, there is a sharp rise in transferrin saturation and all patients studied showed low-molecular-mass iron in their plasma. It is proposed that such iron could interact with oxidants generated by certain drugs (e.g. adriamycin or daunorubicin) to facilitate tissue damage, and that some of the side-effects of chemotherapy might be ameliorated by careful co-administration of small doses of desferrioxamine.