The effects of sildenafil citrate on malignant B-cells in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia
Abstract
7076 Background: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common form of leukemia in the Western Hemisphere, with over 10,000 cases diagnosed annually in the United States. It is characterized by progressive accumulation of functionally incompetent long-lived lymphocytes, shown to be secondary to a defect in programmed cell death or apoptosis. The phosphodiesterase inhibitor sildenafil induces capsase dependent apoptosis of malignant B lymphocytes in vitro. This study will test the hypothesis that sildenafil reduces the expression of BCL-2 and increases the spontaneous apoptosis rate of malignant B-cells in patients with CLL. Methods: Thirteen patients with Rai Stage 0 CLL were enrolled. Nine of the patients were aged sixty-five years or older and received sildenafil 25 mg weekly; four patients were under the age of sixty-five and received sildenafil 25 mg weekly. All patients took the medication for a total of three months. Lymphocyte counts, BCL-2 expression, caspase 3 activity, and apoptosis rate were monitored on enrollment and monthly for duration of the study. Results: The median age of patients enrolled in the study was 74 with a median white blood cell count of 18 x103/mL. Twelve of the 13 patients completed three months of therapy. While one patient withdrew due to blehparitis, not felt to be a side effect of sildenafil, all other patients tolerated the medication well without any adverse effects. There was no significant decrease in white blood cell count or…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a case series, done in people. Its evidence level is 5 of 5 (Very low · case / narrative / animal / in vitro / in silico). Case reports, narrative reviews, and animal, cell or computer-model studies give the weakest evidence for human health. Reported size: 13 participants or records.
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