Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor in Newly Diagnosed Adult Patients with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia...

Twenty consecutive adult patients with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) were treated with conventional therapy consisting of daunorubicin, vincristine, prednisone and L-asparaginase in standard doses. Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) was administered at a single subcutaneous daily dose of 5 microgram per kilogram body weight for fourteen days starting on day 7 of chemotherapy. Twenty two adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and similar risk characteristics who received the same chemotherapeutic regimen without GM-CSF served as a historical control group. The complete remission rate and the rate of early mortality were similar in both groups of patients. Patients treated with GM-CSF showed significantly faster neutrophil recovery above 0.5 × 10(9)/L than the control patients (P < 0.005). The incidence of febrile episodes and the rate of documented infection were similar in the two groups of patients.