Hemopoietic growth and inhibitory factors in treatment of malignancies. A review.

The clinical use of cytokines is still expanding as the knowledge of beneficial effects as adjunct to cancer treatment is increasing. G-CSF and GM-CSF stimulates hemopoietic recovery after myelosuppressive chemotherapy and enhances engraftment after bone marrow transplantation. New cytokines as IL-1, IL-3, IL-4 and IL-6, are studied in clinical trials and combinations of these with stem cell factor seem promising in ex vivo expansion of stem cells. GM-CSF also have antitumor effects. The most recently discovered hemopoietic growth factor is thrombopoietin, from which probably especially patients with leukemia will benefit.