Feasibility and safety of a reduced duration of therapy of colony-stimulating factor in a dose-dense regimen

PURPOSE: The risk of febrile neutropenia (FN) in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy is mainly due to the type of chemotherapy regimen and the presence of specific risk factors in patients. The recent trend of using a dose-dense treatment schedule has enhanced the risk of FN. In the present prospective study, we evaluated the feasibility of a reduction of duration of therapy with colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) in a dose-dense regimen. METHODS: Between June 2002 and December 2011, 107 patients with a new diagnosis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) receiving dose-dense chemotherapy, every 14 days, were included in the study. The primary endpoint was defined as the completion of planned chemotherapy cycles as scheduled. Secondary endpoints were median number of administered G-CSF doses (vials), incidence of FN, hospitalization and toxicity. RESULTS: The planned chemotherapy cycles (primary endpoint) were completed by 84.1 % of patients. The median number of G-CSF (lenograstim) doses administered for each patient was 24 (range 10-35), which corresponds to a median of five vials (range 0-10) for each cycle. Grades 3-4 toxicities, related to G-CSF administration, included neutropenia and thrombocytopenia (14.0 and 1.9 %, respectively). No grades 3-4 bone pain was detected. The incidence of FN and hospitalization was 9.3 % (10/107) and 4.5 % (5/107), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Reduced dosage of G-CSF allows dose-dense chemotherapy scheduling, limits exposure to G-CSF and also represents an opportunity for cost savings.