Different doses of granulocyte colony stimulating factor to support a weekly chemotherapeutic regimen in advanced gastric cancer: a randomized study.
It was our intention to verify if increases of granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) dose were able to reduce treatment delays due to leukopenia in our weekly regimen of cisplatin (40 mg/m2), epidoxorubicin (35 mg/m2), 6S-leucovorin (250 mg/m2) and 5-fluorouracil (500 mg/m2), usually supported by G-CSF at a dose of 5 mu g/kg. Forty five patients with advanced gastric carcinoma (30 males and 15 females; median age 64 years) were randomized to receive three different doses of G-CSF (5, 8 and 10 mu g/kg) by s.c. injection. We did not observe any difference in the mean value of neutrophil counts at each of the 8 weeks of treatment; while we registered a higher incidence of severe neutropenia (< 500/mm3) in patients receiving higher G-CSF doses: two patients in the group at 5 mu g/kg, four in the group at 8 mu g/kg and seven in the group at 10 mu g/kg. Furthermore, low doses of G-CSF allowed a similar number of chemotherapeutic administrations in the eight study weeks. The results arising from our study do not seem to support the use of higher doses of G-CSF, at least in not such a weekly regimen.
Cascinu
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S
Servizio di Oncologia, Ospedali Riuniti, Pesaro, Italy.
Del Ferro
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E
Catalano
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G
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic / Q000009:adverse effects; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D015251:Epirubicin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000008:administration & dosage; D016179:Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006801:Humans; D002955:Leucovorin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology
D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; D016179:Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor; D015251:Epirubicin; D002945:Cisplatin; D002955:Leucovorin; D005472:Fluorouracil