A number of strategies have been tried to protect bone marrow from chemotherapy. The underlying assumption is that increasing the amount of chemotherapy by limiting the bone marrow damage will help patients with cancer.
We are using the gene that encodes alkyl-guanine transferase to protect stem cells
from the effects of nitrosoureas, a class of chemotherapy. Our hope is perform a clinical
trial in which bone marrow cells expressing the gene for AGT are infused into people
undergoing treatment for an aggressive form of brain tumor.
The use of bone marrow protective agents was nicely summarized in an article
by Brian Sorrentino in Nat Rev Cancer, 2002 Jun;2(6):431-41.