Comparison of G-CSF with GM-CSF for mobilizing peripheral blood progenitor cells and for enhancing marrow recovery after autologous bone marrow transplant.

Primed peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPC) with hematopoietic growth factors enhance marrow engraftment after autologous bone marrow transplantation (BMT). G-CSF and GM-CSF stimulate the production of PBPC; both cytokines alone also stimulate neutrophil recovery after autologous BMT. Little data exist comparing these two cytokines. We prospectively studied G-CSF and GM-CSF in autologous BMT. Forty-four consecutive patients with either Hodgkin's disease or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma underwent autologous BMT using both PBPC and autologous marrow. The autologous BMT preparative regimen was CBV (VP-16 2400 mg/m2, CY 1800 mg/m2 i.v. four times daily for 4 days, BCNU 600 mg/m2). Sixteen patients received G-CSF 5 micrograms/kg sc daily for 8 days for mobilization of PBPC and received G-CSF 16 micrograms/kg i.v. four times daily after autologous BMT. Twenty-eight patients received GM-CSF to mobilize PBPC (14 patients received 250 micrograms/m2 sc daily for 8 days; 14 patients received 125 micrograms/m2 sc twice daily for 8 days) and GM-CSF (250 micrograms/m2 i.v. four times daily) after autologous BMT. Patients underwent three to five pheresis procedures to harvest at least 3 x 10(8) nucleated cells/kg. Patients receiving G-CSF had higher peripheral WBC counts than did those receiving GM-CSF. Total numbers of mononuclear cells, total CD34+ cells and total CD34+/33-negative cells were similar in the two treatment groups. The patients receiving G-CSF after autologous BMT experienced a more rapid engraftment of both neutrophils (9 days vs 13 days, p = 0.0001) and platelets (14 days vs 18 days, p = 0.027) than did patients receiving GM-CSF after transplant.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)