Seminars in Hematology
Volume 44, Issue 3 , Pages 148-156 , July 2007

Use of Colony-Stimulating Factors for Chemotherapy-Associated Neutropenia: Review of Current Guidelines

  • Michael Heuser

      Affiliations

    • Department of Hematology, Hemostaseology, and Oncology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress correspondence to Michael Heuser, MD, Department of Hematology, Hemostaseology, and Oncology, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany.
  • ,
  • Arnold Ganser

      Affiliations

    • Department of Hematology, Hemostaseology, and Oncology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
  • ,
  • Carsten Bokemeyer

      Affiliations

    • Department of Medicine II, Universitaetsklinikum Hamburg Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.

References 

  1. Rahman Z, Esparza-Guerra L, Yap HY, Fraschini G, Bodey G, Hortobagyi G. Chemotherapy-induced neutropenia and fever in patients with metastatic breast carcinoma receiving salvage chemotherapy. Cancer. 1997;79:1150–1157
  2. Kuderer NM, Dale DC, Crawford J, Cosler LE, Lyman GH. Mortality, morbidity, and cost associated with febrile neutropenia in adult cancer patients. Cancer. 2006;106:2258–2266
  3. Bokemeyer C, Honecker F, Wedding U, Spath-Schwalbe E, Lipp HP, Kolb G. Use of hematopoietic growth factors in elderly patients receiving cytotoxic chemotherapy. Onkologie. 2002;25:32–39
  4. Smith TJ, Khatcheressian J, Lyman GH, Ozer H, Armitage JO, Balducci L, et al. 2006 update of recommendations for the use of white blood cell growth factors: An evidence-based clinical practice guideline. J Clin Oncol. 2006;24:3187–3205
  5. American Society of Clinical Oncology. Recommendations for the use of hematopoietic colony-stimulating factors: Evidence-based, clinical practice guidelines. J Clin Oncol. 1994;12:2471–2508
  6. Ozer H, Armitage JO, Bennett CL, Crawford J, Demetri GD, Pizzo PA, et al. American Society of Clinical Oncology Growth Factors Expert Panel 2000 update of recommendations for the use of hematopoietic colony-stimulating factors: Evidence-based, clinical practice guidelines. J Clin Oncol. 2000;18:3558–3585
  7. Demetri GD, Griffin JD. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor and its receptor. Blood. 1991;78:2791–2808
  8. Duhrsen U, Villeval JL, Boyd J, Kannourakis G, Morstyn G, Metcalf D. Effects of recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor on hematopoietic progenitor cells in cancer patients. Blood. 1988;72:2074–2081
  9. Kitagawa S, Yuo A, Souza LM, Saito M, Miura Y, Takaku F. Recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor enhances superoxide release in human granulocytes stimulated by the chemotactic peptide. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1987;144:1143–1146
  10. Lieschke GJ, Grail D, Hodgson G, Metcalf D, Stanley E, Cheers C, et al. Mice lacking granulocyte colony-stimulating factor have chronic neutropenia, granulocyte and macrophage progenitor cell deficiency, and impaired neutrophil mobilization. Blood. 1994;84:1737–1746
  11. Hoglund M. Glycosylated and non-glycosylated recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF)—What is the difference?. Med Oncol. 1998;15:229–233
  12. Dranoff G, Crawford AD, Sadelain M, Ream B, Rashid A, Bronson RT, et al. Involvement of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor in pulmonary homeostasis. Science. 1994;264:713–716
  13. Aapro MS, Cameron DA, Pettengell R, Bohlius J, Crawford J, Ellis M, et al. EORTC guidelines for the use of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor to reduce the incidence of chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia in adult patients with lymphomas and solid tumours. Eur J Cancer. 2006;42:2433–2453
  14. Crawford J, Althaus B, Armitage J, Blayney DW, Cataland S, Dale DC, et al. Myeloid growth factors clinical practice guidelines in oncology. J Natl Compr Cancer Network. 2005;3:540–555
  15. Milkovich G, Moleski RJ, Reitan JF, Dunning DM, Gibson GA, Paivanas TA, et al. Comparative safety of filgrastim versus sargramostim in patients receiving myelosuppressive chemotherapy. Pharmacotherapy. 2000;20:1432–1440
  16. Hovgaard D, Schifter S, Rabol A, Mortensen BT, Nissen NI. In vivo kinetics of 111indium-labelled autologous granulocytes following i.v. administration of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). Eur J Haematol. 1992;48:202–207
  17. Dorr RT. Clinical properties of yeast-derived versus Escherichia coli-derived granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor. Clin Ther. 1993;15:19–29
  18. Dale DC, Bonilla MA, Davis MW, Nakanishi AM, Hammond WP, Kurtzberg J, et al. A randomized controlled phase III trial of recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (filgrastim) for treatment of severe chronic neutropenia. Blood. 1993;81:2496–2502
  19. Falzetti F, Aversa F, Minelli O, Tabilio A. Spontaneous rupture of spleen during peripheral blood stem-cell mobilisation in a healthy donor. Lancet. 1999;353:555
  20. Balaguer H, Galmes A, Ventayol G, Bargay J, Besalduch J. Splenic rupture after granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor mobilization in a peripheral blood progenitor cell donor. Transfusion. 2004;44:1260–1261
  21. Wolff AC, Jones RJ, Davidson NE, Jeter SC, Stearns V. Myeloid toxicity in breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy with pegfilgrastim support. J Clin Oncol. 2006;24:2392–2394
  22. Le Deley MC, Suzan F, Cutuli B, Delaloge S, Shamsaldin A, Linassier C, et al. Anthracyclines, mitoxantrone, radiotherapy, and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor: risk factors for leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome after breast cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2005;25:292–300
  23. Smith RE, Bryant J, DeCillis A, Anderson S. Acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome after doxorubicin-cyclophosphamide adjuvant therapy for operable breast cancer: The National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project Experience. J Clin Oncol. 2003;21:1195–1204
  24. Relling MV, Boyett JM, Blanco JG, Raimondi S, Behm FG, Sandlund JT, et al. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor and the risk of secondary myeloid malignancy after etoposide treatment. Blood. 2003;101:3862–3867
  25. Lyman GH, Kuderer NM, Djulbegovic B. Prophylactic granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in patients receiving dose-intensive cancer chemotherapy: A meta-analysis. Am J Med. 2002;112:406–411
  26. Kuderer N, Crawford J, Dale DC, Lyman GH. Meta-analysis of prophylactic granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. J Clin Oncol. 2005;24;(abstr 8117)
  27. Bohlius J, Reiser M, Schwarzer G, Engert A. Granulopoiesis-stimulating factors to prevent adverse effects in the treatment of malignant lymphoma. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2004;CD003189
  28. Vogel CL, Wojtukiewicz MZ, Carroll RR, Tjulandin SA, Barajas-Figueroa LJ, Wiens BL, et al. First and subsequent cycle use of pegfilgrastim prevents febrile neutropenia in patients with breast cancer: A multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase III study. J Clin Oncol. 2005;23:1178–1184
  29. Timmer-Bonte JN, de Boo TM, Smit HJ, Biesma B, Wilschut FA, Cheragwandi SA, et al. Prevention of chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia by prophylactic antibiotics plus or minus granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in small-cell lung cancer: A Dutch randomized phase III study. J Clin Oncol. 2005;23:7974–7984
  30. Lyman GH, Lyman CG, Sanderson RA, Balducci L. Decision analysis of hematopoietic growth factor use in patients receiving cancer chemotherapy. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1993;85:488–493
  31. Lyman GH, Kuderer N, Greene J, Balducci L. The economics of febrile neutropenia: implications for the use of colony-stimulating factors. Eur J Cancer. 1998;34:1857–1864
  32. Cosler LE, Calhoun EA, Agboola O, Lyman GH. Effects of indirect and additional direct costs on the risk threshold for prophylaxis with colony-stimulating factors in patients at risk for severe neutropenia from cancer chemotherapy. Pharmacotherapy. 2004;24:488–494
  33. Timmer-Bonte JN, Adang EM, Smit HJ, Biesma B, Wilschut FA, Bootsma GP, et al. Cost-effectiveness of adding granulocyte colony-stimulating factor to primary prophylaxis with antibiotics in small-cell lung cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2006;24:2991–2997
  34. Berghmans T, Paesmans M, Lafitte JJ, Mascaux C, Meert AP, Sculier JP. Role of granulocyte and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factors in the treatment of small-cell lung cancer: A systematic review of the literature with methodological assessment and meta-analysis. Lung Cancer. 2002;37:115–123
  35. Citron ML, Berry DA, Cirrincione C, Hudis C, Winer EP, Gradishar WJ, et al. Randomized trial of dose-dense versus conventionally scheduled and sequential versus concurrent combination chemotherapy as postoperative adjuvant treatment of node-positive primary breast cancer: First report of Intergroup Trial C9741/Cancer and Leukemia Group B Trial 9741. J Clin Oncol. 2003;21:1431–1439
  36. Venturini M, Del Mastro L, Aitini E, Baldini E, Caroti C, Contu A, et al. Dose-dense adjuvant chemotherapy in early breast cancer patients: Results from a randomized trial. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2005;97:1724–1733
  37. Thatcher N, Girling DJ, Hopwood P, Sambrook RJ, Qian W, Stephens RJ Medical Research Council Lung Cancer Working Party. Improving survival without reducing quality of life in small-cell lung cancer patients by increasing the dose-intensity of chemotherapy with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor support: Results of a British Medical Research Council multicenter randomized trial. J Clin Oncol. 2000;18:395–404
  38. Lorigan P, Woll PJ, O’Brien ME, Ashcroft LF, Sampson MR, Thatcher N. Randomized phase III trial of dose-dense chemotherapy supported by whole-blood hematopoietic progenitors in better-prognosis small-cell lung cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2005;97:666–674
  39. Pfreundschuh M, Trumper L, Kloess M, Schmits R, Feller AC, Rube C, et al. Two-weekly or 3-weekly CHOP chemotherapy with or without etoposide for the treatment of elderly patients with aggressive lymphomas: results of the NHL-B2 trial of the DSHNHL. Blood. 2004;104:634–641
  40. Pfreundschuh M, Trumper L, Kloess M, Schmits R, Feller AC, Rudolph C, et al. Two-weekly or 3-weekly CHOP chemotherapy with or without etoposide for the treatment of young patients with good-prognosis (normal LDH) aggressive lymphomas: Results of the NHL-B1 trial of the DSHNHL. Blood. 2004;104:626–633
  41. Gafter-Gvili A, Fraser A, Paul M, van de WM, Kremer L, Leibovici L. Antibiotic prophylaxis for bacterial infections in afebrile neutropenic patients following chemotherapy. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2005;CD004386
  42. Bennett CL, Smith TJ, George SL, Hillner BE, Fleishman S, Niell HB. Free-riding and the prisoner’s dilemma: Problems in funding economic analyses of phase III cancer clinical trials. J Clin Oncol. 1995;13:2457–2463
  43. Martin M, Lluch A, Segui MA, Ruiz A, Ramos M, Adrover E, et al. Toxicity and health-related quality of life in breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant docetaxel, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide (TAC) or 5-fluorouracil, doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide (FAC): Impact of adding primary prophylactic granulocyte-colony stimulating factor to the TAC regimen. Ann Oncol. 2006;17:1205–1212
  44. Hughes WT, Armstrong D, Bodey GP, Bow EJ, Brown AE, Calandra T, et al. 2002 guidelines for the use of antimicrobial agents in neutropenic patients with cancer. Clin Infect.Dis. 2002;34:730–751
  45. Gafter-Gvili A, Paul M, Fraser A, Leibovici L. Effect of quinolone prophylaxis in afebrile neutropenic patients on microbial resistance: Systematic review and meta-analysis. J Antimicrob.Chemother. 2007;59:5–22
  46. Clark OA, Lyman G, Castro AA, Clark LG, Djulbegovic B. Colony stimulating factors for chemotherapy induced febrile neutropenia. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2003;CD003039
  47. Bajorin DF, Nichols CR, Schmoll HJ, Kantoff PW, Bokemeyer C, Demetri GD, et al. Recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor as an adjunct to conventional-dose ifosfamide-based chemotherapy for patients with advanced or relapsed germ cell tumors: A randomized trial. J Clin Oncol. 1995;13:79–86
  48. Spielberger R, Stiff P, Bensinger W, Gentile T, Weisdorf D, Kewalramani T, et al. Palifermin for oral mucositis after intensive therapy for hematologic cancers. N Engl J Med. 2004;351:2590–2598
  49. Nabholtz JM, Falkson C, Campos D, Szanto J, Martin M, Chan S, et al. Docetaxel and doxorubicin compared with doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide as first-line chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer: Results of a randomized, multicenter, phase III trial. J Clin Oncol. 2003;21:968–975
  50. Biganzoli L, Cufer T, Bruning P, Coleman R, Duchateau L, Calvert AH, et al. Doxorubicin and paclitaxel versus doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide as first-line chemotherapy in metastatic breast cancer: The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer 10961 multicenter phase III trial. J Clin Oncol. 2002;20:3114–3121
  51. Meluch AA, Greco FA, Gray JR, Thomas M, Sutton VM, Davis JL, et al. Preoperative therapy with concurrent paclitaxel/carboplatin/infusional 5-FU and radiation therapy in locoregional esophageal cancer: Final results of a Minnie Pearl Cancer Research Network phase II trial. Cancer J. 2003;9:251–260
  52. Sternberg CN, De Mulder PH, Schornagel JH, Theodore C, Fossa SD, van Oosterom AT, et al. Randomized phase III trial of high-dose-intensity methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin, and cisplatin (MVAC) chemotherapy and recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor versus classic MVAC in advanced urothelial tract tumors: European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer protocol no. 30924. J Clin Oncol. 2001;19:2638–2646
  53. Vaughn DJ, Malkowicz SB, Zoltick B, Mick R, Ramchandani P, Holroyde C, et al. Paclitaxel plus carboplatin in advanced carcinoma of the urothelium: An active and tolerable outpatient regimen. J Clin Oncol. 1998;16:255–260
  54. Rose PG, Blessing JA, Gershenson DM, McGehee R. Paclitaxel and cisplatin as first-line therapy in recurrent or advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix: A gynecologic oncology group study. J Clin Oncol. 1999;17:2676–2680
  55. Shin DM, Glisson BS, Khuri FR, Ginsberg L, Papadimitrakopoulou V, Lee JJ, et al. Phase II trial of paclitaxel, ifosfamide, and cisplatin in patients with recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. J Clin Oncol. 1998;16:1325–1330
  56. Saven A, Burian C, Koziol JA, Piro LD. Long-term follow-up of patients with hairy cell leukemia after cladribine treatment. Blood. 1998;92:1918–1926
  57. von Pawel J, Schiller JH, Shepherd FA, Fields SZ, Kleisbauer JP, Chrysson NG, et al. Topotecan versus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and vincristine for the treatment of recurrent small-cell lung cancer. J Clin Oncol. 1999;17:658–667
  58. Tjan-Heijnen VC, Postmus PE, Ardizzoni A, Manegold CH, Burghouts J, van Meerbeeck J, et al. Reduction of chemotherapy-induced febrile leucopenia by prophylactic use of ciprofloxacin and roxithromycin in small-cell lung cancer patients: An EORTC double-blind placebo-controlled phase III study. Ann Oncol. 2001;12:1359–1368
  59. Trillet-Lenoir V, Green J, Manegold C, von Pawel J, Gatzemeier U, Lebeau B, et al. Recombinant granulocyte colony stimulating factor reduces the infectious complications of cytotoxic chemotherapy. Eur J Cancer. 1993;29A:319–324
  60. Velasquez WS, Cabanillas F, Salvador P, McLaughlin P, Fridrik M, Tucker S, et al. Effective salvage therapy for lymphoma with cisplatin in combination with high-dose Ara-C and dexamethasone (DHAP). Blood. 1988;71:117–122
  61. Velasquez WS, McLaughlin P, Tucker S, Hagemeister FB, Swan F, Rodriguez MA, et al. ESHAP—An effective chemotherapy regimen in refractory and relapsing lymphoma: A 4-year follow-up study. J Clin Oncol. 1994;12:1169–1176
  62. Kewalramani T, Zelenetz AD, Nimer SD, Portlock C, Straus D, Noy A, et al. Rituximab and ICE as second-line therapy before autologous stem cell transplantation for relapsed or primary refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Blood. 2004;103:3684–3688

PII: S0037-1963(07)00065-0

doi: 10.1053/j.seminhematol.2007.04.002

Seminars in Hematology
Volume 44, Issue 3 , Pages 148-156 , July 2007