Effect of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor on neutropenia due to chemotherapy for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Abstract

The authors administered recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) to 16 patients with advanced non-Hodgkin's lymphoma treated with combination chemotherapy. Groups of three to five patients were treated with 50, 100, 200, and 400 micrograms/m2 per day of rhG-CSF by intravenous infusion for 14 days, beginning 3 days after chemotherapy. There was a strong linear relationship between the dose and the area under the curve over this dose range. The rhG-CSF was rapidly cleared from serum, with a mean half-life of 5.97 hours for the second phase (t1/2). In patients treated with a dose of more than 100 micrograms/m2 per day, the duration of neutropenia (P less than 0.01) and the duration of fever (P less than 0.05) were significantly decreased. The rhG-CSF was well tolerated and the only clinical observation that appeared relating to rhG-CSF administration was slight bone pain. This study strongly suggests that an optimum dose of rhG-CSF in patients after chemotherapy is 100 to 200 micrograms/m2. Our study shows that rhG-CSF is a clinically useful drug for patients treated with myelosuppressive chemotherapy.

Hypoplastic acute myeloid leukemia in an elderly patient. A long‐term partial remission with low‐dose prednisone and G‐CSF

“…The benefit of such treatment strategies remains controversial. However, most studies report a shorter duration of neutropenia with a lower incidence of infections in the hemopoietic growth factor–treated patients . It is believed that hematopoietic growth factors when administered concomitantly with chemotherapy this treatment induces a recycling of the leukemic cells and increases their chemosensitivity .…”

Polymorphonuclear leucocytes selectively produce anti‐inflammatory interleukin‐1 receptor antagonist and chemokines, but fail to produce pro‐inflammatory mediators

“…17,18 Several studies have therefore shown beneficial therapeutic effects in applying recombinant G-CSF (rG-CSF) to patients with chemotherapyassociated leukopenia. 17,19,20 In addition, rG-CSF has been used, along with antibiotics, to treat pneumonia in animal models, 21 and it was found that leukopenic animals showed an increased survival under rG-CSF therapy. Other studies show a beneficial effect of rG-CSF, even in non-neutropenic animals.…”

Expression of functional granulocyte colony-stimulating factor receptors on human B-lymphocytic leukemia cells

“…This evidence suggests a probable involvement of G-CSF in human early B-cell ontogeny. Some clinical studies showed that administration of G-CSF in lymphoproliferative disorders stimulated only granulopoiesis but not malignant lymphoid cells [23,24,25]. This clinical evidence suggests that G-CSF receptors expressed on lymphocytic leukemia cells are less functional than those on normal hematopoietic cells.…”