Cyclosporin A Reversed Chemoresistance of a Patient with Pure Red Cell Aplasia Secondary to Thymoma.

This case study reports on a patient who relapsed with thymoma (mixed type) nine years after tumor resection. After four courses of rescue chemotherapy (docetaxel and cisplatinum), the patient was further diagnosed with pure red cell aplasia. It was noticed that cyclosporin A (CsA), which was administered to treat aplasia, could reverse chemoresistance. Its mechanism is not completely clear, but the hypothesis of CsA inhibiting P-glycoprotein mediated drug efflux is the most acceptable.