OBJECTIVETo investigate and evaluate the clinical therapeutic effect of low-dose interleukin-11 treatment of thrombocytopenia in patients with malignant hematologic diseases after chemotherapy.

METHODS70 patients with hematologic malignancies including acute leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma were randomly divided into treatment group (35 cases) and control group (35 cases) and were treated with chemotherapy. Cases in the treatment group received subcutaneous injection of interleukin-11 (50 µg × kg(-1) × d(-1)) until platelet counting recovered ≥ 50 × 10(9)/L, while cases in the control group were not administrated with interleukin-11.

RESULTSThe mean time of platelet recovery in the treatment group was 9.6 days, significantly shorter than that (14.0 days) in the control group (P < 0.05). The minimum platelet counting in the treatment group was significantly higher than that in the control group (16.2 × 10(9)/L vs. 11.6 × 10(9)/L, P < 0.05). The mean times of platelet infusion after chemotherapy in the treatment group and control group were 2.88 and 2.98, respectively (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONAdministration of interleukin-11 in thrombocytopenic patients with hematologic malignancies after chemotherapy may not only remarkably enhance platelet counts and shorten the recovery time of thrombocytopenia, but also has only mild side effects.