Anabolic steroids and bone marrow toxicity during therapy with methotrexate.

The effect of the anabolic steroids nandrolone decanoate and oxymetholone on the peripheral blood haemoglobin, total leucocyte and platelet counts was studied in a controlled trial in which patients received standardized chemotherapy for one form of malignant disease. The results indicate that these agents have no protective effect on bone marrow suppression during cytotoxic chemotherapy. It was observed that the time interval between the initial nadir total leucocyte count and the return to pre-treatment values in those patients receiving the anabolic steroids was significantly shorter than in the control group.