Melphalan therapy of polycythemia vera.

Twenty-seven patients with p. vera and adverse hematologic effects were whose proliferative disease required the infrequent. To date one patient has desuppression of bone marrow function veloped refractory anemia and evidence were treated with melphalan for periods of myelofibrosis. Four patients have deof 20 to 72 months. The response was veloped acute leukemia but none of these rated as good to excellent at three months had been treated with melphalan alone. in 24 of the 27 patients. At the end of The results to date are sufficiently good one year 14 of the 27 patients had no to establish melphalan as one of the evidence of disease. In eight of the remost effective agents in the control of maining 13 the only persistent abnormalp. vera. ity was a palpable spleen. Side reactions