Effect of short-course high-dose methylprednisolone treatment on serum IL-2 levels in children with myelodysplastic syndromes: A pilot study

Promising results in children with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) have been reported with high-dose methylprednisolone (HDMP) as a differentiation inducer, combined with cytotoxic chemotherapy. HDMP treatment has been shown to stimulate some cytokines in patients with acute leukemia. In the present study the effect of HDMP treatment on serum levels of interleukin 2 (IL-2) was evaluated in five children with MDS. Remarkable increases in serum IL-2 levels were observed 3 and 7 days after HDMP (30 mg/kg per day) treatment in three patients with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML). There was no correlation between the peripheral blood absolute lymphocyte counts and serum IL-2 levels. The results of this preliminary study indicate that the use of short-course HDMP treatment might be beneficial to increase the serum IL-2 level in patients with CMML.