Non-Requirement to Blood Transfusion in a Patient With Myelodysplastic Syndrome Following the Oral Administration of β-D-Mannuronic Acid: A Case Report

Abstract

Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDSs) is a heterogeneous group of hematologic neoplasms that causes cytopenia and dysplasia in one or more major bone marrow cell lines. The patients with this syndrome develop clinical complications associated with progressive bone marrow destruction leading to an increased risk for acute myelogenous leukemia. In the treatment of this syndrome, repeated infusion of Red Blood Cells (RBCs) may lead to iron overload, which is associated with a reduction in the survival rate of patients. In this paper, we report a case with MDS whose risk of dependence on blood transfusion was interstitial and received 4 units of packed RBCs once every 4 weeks. He had enrolled in our current clinical trial of β-D-mannuronic acid (M2000) in Iranian MDS patients. This 68-year-old man was treated with M2000, 500-mg capsule every 12 hours for 3 months. After 3 months of treatment, he experienced a non-requirement to blood transfusion following a hemoglobin increase of more than 2.5 g/dL in his blood sample. Moreover, the patient’s life quality was improved. This case report showed that M2000 drug might be an effective treatment for transfusiondependent MDS patients (Clinical trial identifier; IRCT20130622013739N11).