A single dose of pegfilgrastim compared with daily filgrastim for supporting neutrophil recovery in patients treated for low-to-intermediate risk acute myeloid leukemia: results from a randomized, double-blind, phase 2 trial

Background: Patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are often neutropenic as a result of their disease. Furthermore, these patients typically experience profound neutropenia following induction and/or consolidation chemotherapy and this may result in serious, potentially life-threatening, infection. This randomized, double-blind, phase 2 clinical trial compared the efficacy and tolerability of pegfilgrastim with filgrastim for assisting neutrophil recovery following induction and consolidation chemotherapy for de novo AML in patients with low-to-intermediate risk cytogenetics. Methods: Patients (n = 84) received one or two courses of standard induction chemotherapy (idarubicin + cytarabine), followed by one course of consolidation therapy (high-dose cytarabine) if complete remission was achieved. They were randomized to receive either single-dose pegfilgrastim 6 mg or daily filgrastim 5 μg/kg, beginning 24 hours after induction and consolidation chemotherapy. Results: The median time to recovery from severe neutropenia was 22.0 days for both pegfilgrastim (n = 42) and filgrastim (n = 41) groups during Induction 1 (difference 0.0 days; 95% CI: -1.9 to 1.9). During Consolidation, recovery occurred after a median of 17.0 days for pegfilgrastim versus 16.5 days for filgrastim (difference 0.5 days; 95% CI: -1.1 to 2.1). Therapeutic pegfilgrastim serum concentrations were maintained throughout neutropenia. Pegfilgrastim was well tolerated, with an adverse event profile similar to that of filgrastim. Conclusion: These data suggest no clinically meaningful difference between a single dose of pegfilgrastim and multiple daily doses of filgrastim for shortening the duration of severe neutropenia following chemotherapy in de novo AML patients with low-to-intermediate risk cytogenetics

Effect of recombinant GM-CSF on the metabolism of cytosine arabinoside in normal and leukemic human bone marrow cells

Human recombinant GM-CSF (rGM-CSF) is under investigation as a growth-protective agent for normal hematopoietic elements in phase I trials of myelosuppressive chemotherapy and in bone marrow transplantation. We determined the effect of rGM-CSF on the metabolism of high dose Ara-C in bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMCs) from healthy volunteers and patients with ANLL. Cells were incubated with rGM-CSF alone, Ara-C alone, or a combination of the two drugs. Treatment with rGM-CSF alone yielded approximately a twofold increment in intracellular dCTP pools in normal BMMCs but not in leukemic blasts. Exposure to rGM-CSF in conjunction with Ara-C corrected Ara-C-mediated declines in dCTP levels and decreased cytosine arabinoside triphosphate (Ara-CTP) accumulation in normal BMMCs but not in their leukemic counterparts. Furthermore, when exposure to Ara-C was preceded by treatment with rGM-CSF for 18 hr, an even greater reduction in the Ara-CTP/dCTP pool ratio was observed in normal versus leukemic elements; however, this did not significantly change Ara-C DNA incorporation in the two cell types. The differential effect of rGM-CSF on the phosphorylation of Ara-C in normal BMMCs versus leukemic blasts has potential implications for the use of a regimen consisting of rGM-CSF and high dose Ara-C in the treatment of ANLL with chemotherapy or autologous bone marrow transplantation