Treatment of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia in children with subcutaneously administered recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor

Prophylactic colony-stimulating factors in children receiving myelosuppressive chemotherapy: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

BACKGROUND

The colony-stimulating factors (CSFs) are widely utilized to prevent neutropenic complications in both adults and children, but randomized controlled trials in the pediatric setting have reported varied results. A systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis were conducted to definitively assess the impact of prophylactic CSFs on the risk of febrile neutropenia (FN) in pediatric oncology patients.

METHODS

MEDLINE was searched and references hand-searched through July 2004 for randomized controlled trials of prophylactic G-CSF or GM-CSF in pediatric oncology patients. Objectives, outcomes, and quality of the 16 included studies were extracted by two reviewers. Weighted summary estimates of relative risks (RR) were calculated for FN and documented infection (DI). Mean differences in hospitalization, antibiotic use, and duration of neutropenia were calculated.

RESULTS

FN occurred in 68% of 400 controls and 59% of 404 CSF patients. The estimated RR was 0.88 [0.81-0.97; (P=0.01)] favoring the CSFs for leukemia and high grade lymphoma studies and 0.71 [0.51-0.97; (P=0.03)] for solid tumor studies. DI occurred in 25% of controls and 20% of CSF patients for an estimated RR of 0.80 [0.61-1.06; (P=0.12)]. The mean decrease in duration of neutropenia was 3.5 days [2.2-4.7; (P<0.0001)]. Mean decreases favoring CSF use were also observed for hospital stay of 1.7 days [0.9-2.5 (P<0.01)] and antibiotic use of 2.0 days [0.4-3.6; P=0.02].

CONCLUSIONS

Prophylactic CSFs significantly decrease the incidence of FN and the durations of severe neutropenia, hospitalization, and antibiotic use in pediatric cancer patients, but they do not significantly decrease documented infections.

Myeloprotective effect of short-course high-dose methylprednisolone treatment before consolidation therapy in children with acute myeloblastic leukemia

In our previous studies, short-course high-dose methylprednisolone (HDMP) has been shown to shorten the chemotherapy-induced neutropenic period by stimulating the CD34(+) hematopoietic progenitor cells in children with acute leukemia. In this study, we investigate the role of short-course HDMP on induction of a myeloprotective effect when administered before consolidation therapy consisting of high-dose cytosine arabinoside and daunorubicin. Thirty-four consecutive newly diagnosed children with acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) who received 64 courses of consolidation regimen were entered into the study. The patients received HDMP (group A) at a daily dose of 30 mg/kg methylprednisolone starting 4 days before the initiation of consolidation therapy. The control group did not receive HDMP (group B). There were no differences in the white blood cell (WBC) and absolute neutrophil counts (ANC) between group A (at day -4) and group B (at day 0) at the beginning of the study (medians: 3 x 10(9)/L vs. 3.2 x 10(9)/L and 1.5 x 10(9)/L vs. 1.7 x 10(9)/L, respectively). The WBC count increased significantly from 3 x 10(9)/L to 6.4 x 10(9)/L, and ANC increased from 1.5 x 10(9)/L to 3.9 x 10(9)/L after 4 days of HDMP treatment in group A (P < 0.01). Following high-dose chemotherapy, the median values of WBC and ANC also remained higher than the control values during the 16 days of the follow-up period. The neutropenic period was significantly shorter in the HDMP group than in the control group (9 +/- 5.2 days vs. 22 +/- 4.7 days) (P < 0.05). The duration of hospitalization and the interval between two chemotherapy cycles were significantly decreased in group A when compared group B (9 +/- 2.7 vs. 14 +/- 2.7 days; 22 +/- 4.7 vs. 26 +/- 4.2 days, respectively) (P < 0.05). Moreover, following consolidation therapy, the number of patients with ANC values below 0.5 x 10(9)/L was lower in group A when compared the group B. In conclusion, the administration of short-course (4 days) HDMP before high-dose chemotherapy has been found to be beneficial for reducing the duration and severity of neutropenia. Further studies with short-course HDMP are required to evaluate its myeloprotective effects in patients with other malignancies.

A randomised study of prophylactic G-CSF following MRC UKALL XI intensification regimen in childhood ALL and T-NHL

BACKGROUND

Despite the current widespread use of prophylactic G-CSF in children with solid tumours and leukaemia, its effectiveness has not been clearly demonstrated. This randomised study evaluates the role of G-CSF given after a 5-day intensification block in children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL).

PROCEDURE

Forty-six children with ALL or T-Cell non-Hodgkins lymphoma (NHL) treated on MRC ALL 97, UKALL XI or UKCCSG 9504 NHL protocols were randomised to receive granulocyte colony-stimulating factor following either the first or the second block of intensive chemotherapy in a cross-over study to determine if the prophylactic administration of G-CSF could reduce the rate of readmission to hospital for management of febrile neutropenia.

RESULTS

There was a statistically significant difference in the rate of hospital admission in the group receiving prophylaxis, with 34 of 46 being admitted, compared to 42 of 46 patients in the control arm (74 vs. 91%; P=0.0386). There were no differences found in duration of hospital admission, haematological toxicity, neutrophil recovery or duration of supportive care between the two groups. There was no demonstrable cost benefit derived from the prophylactic administration of G-CSF.

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows that the prophylactic administration of G-CSF following intensification chemotherapy for childhood ALL and T-NHL produces a significant reduction in the rate of readmission to hospital for the management of febrile neutropenia.

High-dose cytarabine-containing chemotherapy with or without granulocyte colony-stimulating factor for children with acute leukemia

We sought to determine the role of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) as an adjunct therapy in high-dose cytarabine-containing chemotherapy (HD C/T) for children with acute leukemia. Seventeen patients, aged 9 months to 18 years old, 8 ALL and 9 AML, were treated with cytarabine (Ara-C) 1 g/m2 q12h for 8 doses with mitoxantrone, idarubicin, VP-16, or asparaginase. A total of 71 courses of HD C/T was given. G-CSF was not used in 14 courses (Group A). Prophylactic G-CSF was given in 57 courses (Group B) as 200 microg/m2/d SC started one day after the completion of HD C/T and continued until the neutrophil recovery was maintained. The incidences of sepsis per course in Group A and Group B were 35.7% (5/14) and 40.4% (23/57), respectively. While 2 patients in Group A died of sepsis or pneumonia, none in Group B died. The mortality and delay in chemotherapy were fewer in Group B (P = 0.037 and 0.0006, respectively, Fisher exact test). There was a shorter average number of days of neutrophil <500/cumm, antibiotic usage, fever, and hospital stay in Group B (11, 8, 5, 17 days in Group B vs. 21, 17, 10, 37 days in Group A; P = 0.0001, log-rank test; 0.0006, 0.0023, 0.0001, Wilcoxon rank sum test, respectively). The incidence of neutropenic fever was lower in Group B, but the difference did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.06, Fisher exact test). We conclude that G-CSF as an adjunct therapy in HD C/T is effective in reducing mortality, days of neutropenia, antibiotic usage, fever, hospital stay, and frequency of delay in chemotherapy. The efficacy of this treatment approach requires further testing in a randomized, controlled trial.

Pharmacokinetics of intravenous recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) in children receiving myelosuppressive cancer chemotherapy: clearance increases in relation to absolute neutrophil count with repeated dosing

Limited evidence suggests increased efficacy of rhG-CSF by subcutaneous (SQ) compared with intravenous (IV) administration. To examine the possibility that rapid elimination of IV rhG-CSF could substantially shorten the duration of systemic exposure and could explain a difference in pharmacodynamics, we characterized the pharmacokinetic profile of IV rhG-CSF for comparison to that previously reported for SQ administration. Twelve children were randomly assigned to receive 10 or more days of IV rhG-CSF at dosages of 5 or 10 microg/kg a day beginning 24 hr after chemotherapy. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure rhG-CSF concentrations in timed serum samples on days 1 and 10. Pharmacokinetic parameters were estimated by nonlinear, least squares regression. All serum concentration-time profiles were best described by a two-compartment model of elimination. Mean t1/2beta values ranged from 3.68 +/- 0.86 to 22.4 +/- 12.0 hr. ANC was correlated with log CLT (r = 0.72, P < 0.05), and inversely with log dose-adjusted AUC (r = 0.75, P < 0.05) and log dose-adjusted Cmax (r = -0.65, P < 0.05). Estimated duration of serum rhG-CSF concentrations above 1 ng/ml exceeded 24 hr for all but the 5 microg/kg cohort on day 1. Pharmacokinetic parameters of IV rhG-CSF are similar to those previously reported for SQ administration in children treated with myelosuppressive cancer chemotherapy. Daily IV administration should be a suitable alternative route of administration in this patient population.

Use of granulocyte colony stimulating factor to reduce the toxicity of super-VAC chemotherapy in advanced solid tumours in childhood

Children with advanced solid tumours at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children (RAHC) receive an intensive four drug chemotherapy combination, Super-VAC (cyclophosphamide, 500 mg/m2, adriamycin, 30 mg/m2, actinomycin-D, 0.5 mg/m2, all daily for 3 days, and vincristine, 1.5 mg/m2 weekly). The majority of patients respond well to three courses of such therapy, but with considerable morbidity, including fever, neutropenia, and mucositis. In an attempt to reduce the morbidity of Super-VAC, G-CSF was added. We documented various parameters in 12 patients who received 28 cycles with G-CSF and compared them to an historical control group of 37 cycles in the preceding 14 patients who received Super-VAC. The median duration of each cycle was 23 days with G-CSF and 28 days without G-CSF (P = 0.004). However, differences in requirements for inpatient care (median 16 v. 20 days), intravenous antibiotics (median 9 v. 10 days), amphotericin (median 5 v. 3 days), morphine (median 8.5 v. 7 days), or TPN (median 6.5 v. 8 days) did not reach statistical significance. As expected, a significant difference in neutrophil recovery was demonstrated between the two groups (median 11 v. 16 days, P < 0.0001) but not in platelet recovery (median 13 v. 13 days). The use of G-CSF with Super-VAC resulted in a shorter cycle length, so increasing the dose intensity. A reduction in morbidity could not be demonstrated. No toxic side effects from G-CSF were noted.

Absence of G-CSF receptors and absent response to G-CSF in childhood Burkitt's lymphoma and B-ALL cells

The expression of the granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) receptor in childhood Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) cells, and the mitogenic effect of G-CSF on these cells, was studied in a panel of 13 Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) positive and negative BL cell lines derived from nine children. G-CSF receptor mRNA expression was investigated by Northern blot analysis and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Binding of G-CSF to BL cell lines was measured by chemical crosslinking of 125I-G-CSF, and proliferation by thymidine incorporation. Inducibility of the G-CSF receptor was studied by stimulation with interleukin-1 beta, tumour necrosis factor-alpha, Staphylococcus aureus Cowan A, anti-human IgM, phorbol myristate acetate, calcium ionophore A23187, and by infection in vitro by immortalizing and non-immortalizing strains of EBV. BL cell lines, unstimulated or stimulated by biological reagents or EBV infection, did not bind radioionated G-CSF in crosslinking experiments. No stimulation by recombinant human G-CSF was observed in 3H-thymidine incorporation assays. No G-CSF receptor mRNA was detected by Northern blot analysis or RT-PCR in BL cell lines. It is concluded that G-CSF plays no direct stimulatory role in the growth of these malignant B-cells, making a deleterious influence of G-CSF in the clinical treatment situation unlikely.

Role of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor as adjunct therapy for septicemia in children with acute leukemia

The granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) has been shown to accelerate recovery from severe neutropenia and to decrease the incidence of documented infections after intensive chemotherapy in cancer patients. However, the routine prophylactic use of G-CSF is expensive. This study was conducted to determine the role of G-CSF as adjunct therapy for septicemia following neutropenia caused by chemotherapy in children with acute leukemia. Fifty consecutive episodes of septicemia were studied involving 34 episodes of Gram-negative, 7 episodes of Gram-positive, 5 episodes of polymicrobial bacterial septicemia, one episode of fungemia, and 3 episodes of disseminated fungal infection. In the first 25 episodes, G-CSF was not used (group A). For the next 16 episodes, G-CSF 200 micrograms per square meter per day subcutaneously was given immediately after the septicemia was documented until the absolute neutrophil count was maintained at more than 1,500 per cubic millimeter (group B). Thereafter, G-CSF at the same dose as that of group B was prophylactically used in all the children who received high-dose cytosine arabinoside-containing regimens. Nine episodes of septicemia occurred (group C). The incidences of mortality per episode of septicemia in groups A, B, and C were 12.0% (3/25), 12.5% (2/16) and 0% (0/9), respectively. Statistically, there was no difference between the three groups overall and in pair-wise comparisons (all P > 0.5). The durations of G-CSF administration in group B ranged from 6 to 26 days with a median of 12 days and the durations of G-CSF administration in group C ranged from 10 to 23 days with a median of 19 days. With or without G-CSF, there may be no significant difference in the mortality of septicemia following neutropenia caused by chemotherapy in children with acute leukemia.