THE USUAL STARTING DOSE FOR ADULTS IS 3 MG/M2 WHICH MAY BE RAISED BY INCREMENTS OF 500 MICROGRAMS/M2 WEEKLY PROVIDING THAT THE GRANULOCYTE AND PLATELET COUNTS DO NOT FALL BELOW ACCEPTABLE LEVELS (SEE ALSO BONE-MARROW DEPRESSION IN VINBLASTINE MONOGRAPH), AND ACUTE ABDOMINAL PAIN IS NOT EXPERIENCED; WEEKLY DOSES ARE USUALLY BETWEEN 3 AND 4 MG/M2. CHILDREN MAY BE GIVEN 4 MG/M2 INITIALLY, WITH WEEKLY DOSES USUALLY RANGING BETWEEN 4 AND 5 MG/M2. AN ALTERNATIVE REGIMEN FOR CHILDREN WITH LEUKAEMIA IS 2 MG/M2 DAILY FOR 2 CONSECUTIVE DAYS, REPEATED AFTER AN INTERVAL OF 5 TO 7 DAYS. BLOOD COUNTS SHOULD BE MADE BEFORE EACH INJECTION. IT MAY BE NECESSARY TO REDUCE INITIAL DOSES IN PATIENTS WITH SIGNIFICANTLY IMPAIRED HEPATIC FUNCTION.