Amifostine (Ethyol): dosing, administration and patient management guidelines

Cytoprotection utilising amifostine (Ethyol, WR-2721) is an evolving strategy to protect normal cells from the toxicity of chemotherapy. The dosing and administration guidelines are reviewed. The recommended dose of amifostine is 910 mg/m2 as a 15-min infusion prior to chemotherapy. Toxicity of this agent is moderate with hypotension and nausea/vomiting being observed in variable numbers of patients. Administration of amifostine with chemotherapy is simple and is associated with acceptable toxicity.