Risk factors for hematological toxicity of chemotherapy for bone and soft tissue sarcoma

The aim of this study was to assess chemotherapy treatment characteristics, neutropenic event occurrence and related risk factors in bone and soft tissue sarcoma patients in China. Knowledge of such risk factors aids healthcare providers in focusing resources on those who are at most risk and targeting prophylactic colony-stimulating factors (CSFs) for those patients. The study included 113 children and adults with different types of sarcoma who had been treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy for bone and soft tissue sarcoma in order to identify risk factors for hematological toxicity of chemotherapy for bone and soft tissue sarcoma. Risk factors were determined using multivariate logistic regression analysis. Factors such as age <20 years, Karnofsky Performance Status Scale (KPS) score <60, malnutrition, number of previous chemotherapies >3 and combination therapy with >3 drugs were significantly associated with occurrence of grade III/IV neutropenia, suggestive of severe bone marrow suppression. Patients with such characteristics are at most risk of severe bone marrow suppression, and preventing discontinuation of treatment would be valuable for treating patients more effectively.