Phase I study of in vivo lenograstim (rHuG-CSF) for stem cell collection demonstrates improved neutrophil recovery after autologous bone marrow transplantation

Colony stimulating factors and especially rHuG-GSF, the first available neutrophil growth factor, have led to considerable interest in the field of stem cell transplantation because of their ability to induce stem cell peripheralization either alone or in association with high-dose chemotherapy. Few data exist, however, on the impact of rHuG-CSF on large scale bone marrow collection and autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT). This phase I, non-randomized, dose escalation study of rHu-G-CSF (lenograstim) administered to 30 patients at doses ranging from 1 to 40 μg/kg/day for 5 days before bone marrow harvesting showed that priming with rHu-G-CSF in vivo increased the number of bone marrow cells and D14 myeloid restricted progenitors (CFU-GM) and led to a better neutrophil recovery after ABMT compared with a contemporary unprimed control population