[Clinical efficacy of Z-100 for the treatment of leukopenia caused by radiotherapy--a multi-center double-blind comparative study with L-cysteine]

Abstract

The clinical usefulness of Z-100 (Z group) for the treatment of leukopenia caused by radiotherapy for malignant tumors was evaluated by comparing it with that of L-cysteine (L group) by the double-blind method. For 178 complete cases, there were no significant differences in the time-course of the WBC during radiotherapy between the two group. However, for cases with a large field of irradiation (15 X 15 cm = 225 cm2), the mean WBC count in the L group decreased more than that in the Z group. The Z group showed comparable or superior efficacy for the treatment of leukopenia in the L group although there were no significant differences. Adverse reactions were observed in 5.66% and 2.94% in the Z and L groups, respectively, without any significant difference between the groups. The utility rate, useful or better, was 73.9% and 69.2% in the Z and L groups, respectively, showing a slightly higher rate in the Z group than in the L group, although the difference between the two groups was not significant. These results confirmed that Z-100 has comparable or superior efficacy to L-cysteine for the treatment of leukopenia caused by large field radiotherapy for malignant tumors.