[Treatment of transfusion-dependent nonsevere aplastic anemia with cyclosporine A plus ATG/ALG versus cyclosporine A plus androgens: a retrospective single center study].

Objective: To determine whether cyclosporine A (CsA) plus androgens was as effective as the current standard immunosuppressive therapy (IST) for transfusion-dependent nonsevere aplastic anemia (TD-NSAA). Methods: The records of 125 consecutive TD-NSAA patients who were treated between Aug. 2007 and Sept. 2014, with either CsA plus androgen or ALG/ATG plus CsA regimen were reviewed. The 3-month and 6-month hematologic responses and survival were evaluated. Results: There were 125 TD-NSAA patients (70 were male and 55 female, 1.25∶1). Median age was 27 (6-66) years. There was no significant difference in early mortality between 48 treated by ATG/ALG plus CsA and 77 by CsA plus androgen patients (1/48 vs 0/77, P=0.384). Both the total hematologic response and the better hematological response rates at 3-month (70.8% vs 45.5%, P=0.006 and 27.1% vs 10.4%, P=0.015, respectively) and 6-month (75.0% vs 55.8%, P=0.031 and 41.7% vs 22.1% P =0.020, respectively) after treatment were much higher in the standard IST group than that in CsA plus androgen group. The median time to transfusion independent of 36.5 (0-149) days in the standard IST group was significantly shorter than 98 (14-180) days in CsA plus androgen group (P<0.001). Survival was comparable between the two groups (97.9% vs 100.0%, P=0.227). It was superior (71.2% vs 59.5%) but not significantly (P=0.227) in event-free survival in standard IST group. Conclusions: CsA plus androgen was inferior to the standard IST of ATG/ALG and CsA regimen in treating TD-NSAA in terms of the hematologic response and the quality of response, despite of comparable short-term survival.