Hematopoietic growth factors in bone marrow transplantation.

Preliminary clinical results demonstrate the activity of recombinant human granulocyte (rHuG) and granulocyte/macrophage (rHuGM) colony stimulating factors (CSFs) in enhancing bone marrow engraftment after autologous and allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT). In several analyses of prospective, controlled clinical trials of rHuG- and rHuGM-CSF, reduced morbidity and cost, as well as improved survival have been observed. There is reason to hope that more profound understanding of the in vivo biology of these and other cytokines will lead to further reduction in morbidity and mortality associated with both autologous as well as allogeneic BMT. These advances could significantly broaden the spectrum of diseases amenable to treatment by BMT.