[Therapy of polycythemia vera with myleran].

By NIEL WALD, TAKASHI HOSHINO AND MARY E. SEARS MYLERAN#{176} was developed in the course of a study of the tumor-inhibiting effect of various sulfonic acid esters by Haddow and Timmis.1 Because of the neutropenia, unaccompanied by other side effects, which was observed during its ineffective clinical trial in vaniotis types of cancer in man, Myieran was employed in the treatment of chronic granulocytic leukemia by Galton2 in 1950. His successful results in the control of this disease have been duplicated and reported subsequently by many other workers.3 The use of Myleran in chronic granulocytic letikemia at the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission, Hiroshima, Japan, was started in 1953 by Moloney and Fujii.4 In 1954 they, with Sears, extended its use to two cases of polycythemia vera having elevated white cotmnts and found that a reduction of the leukocytosis occurred.5 Since then we have tised Myieran in polycythemic relapses regardless of the leukocyte level, primarily for its effect on the erythropoietic system. In five cases of polycythemia vera, it was possible to study nine polycythemic relapses through courses of Myleran therapy into clinical and hematologic remissions.