Melphalan in the Treatment of Myelomatosis

Abstract

Twenty patients suffering from myelomatosis have been treated with melphalan, L-phenylalanine nitrogen mustard. The minimum period of follow-up was six months, and eight patients were observed for 12 to 33 months. Seven patients died between 1 and 14 months after starting treatment. Pain was relieved in 11 out of 15 cases, the haemoglobin concentration increased in eight cases, and significant decrease in the erythrocyte sedimentation rate, serum globulin level, serum calcium level, and proteinuria occurred in four cases. Melphalan is a bone-marrow depressant. A fall in the neutrophil count occurred in all cases, and in the platelet count in seven cases. Melphalan was more toxic in the presence of uraemia. © 1964, British Medical Journal Publishing Group. All rights reserved.