Pegfilgrastim versus filgrastim after high-dose chemotherapy and autologous peripheral blood stem cell support

American Society of Clinical Oncology guidelines recommend the use of growth factor after high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) and peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) support. This randomized trial aims to demonstrate the noninferiority of pegfilgrastim (PEG) compared with filgrastim (FIL) after HDC.

Eighty patients were assigned to FIL at a daily dose of 5 mug/kg or a single fixed dose of PEG (6 mg) 1 day after PBSC. The primary end point was the duration of neutropenia both in terms of absolute neutrophil count (ANC) <0.5 x 10(9)/l and of days to reach an ANC >0.5 x 10(9)/l.

The mean duration of neutropenia was 6 and 6.2 days and the mean time to reach an ANC >0.5 x 10(9)/l was 11.5 and 10.8 in the FIL and PEG group, respectively. No differences were observed in the mean time to reach an ANC >1.0 x 10(9)/l (12.2 versus 12.0 days) in the incidence of fever (62% versus 56%) and of documented infections (31% versus 25%). The mean duration of antibiotic therapy was 5.7 and 4.0 days in FIL and PEG group, respectively.

PEG is not inferior to FIL in hematological reconstitution and represents an effective alternative after HDC and PBSC.