Phase II Pilot Study of Cytarabine for Refractory Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

PROTOCOL ENTRY CRITERIA: Disease Characteristics * Clinically documented active systemic lupus erythematosus demonstrating at least 4 revised diagnostic criteria * Unresponsive to conventional therapy with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), topical corticosteroids, and antimalarials * Intolerable side effects from corticosteroids or other immunosuppressive drugs Failure on immunosuppressives not required * No life-threatening disease, e.g.: Lupus cerebritis Rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis Prior/Concurrent Therapy * No concurrent other DNA synthesis inhibitors, NSAIDs, and prednisone continued on study Patient Characteristics * Hematopoietic: WBC at least 2000; Platelets at least 100,000 * Renal: Creatinine clearance at least 20 mL/min * Other: No major infection within 2 weeks prior to entry * Negative pregnancy test required of fertile women * Effective contraception required of fertile women. Advised for men during and for 75 days after therapy