British journal of haematology
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The granulopoiesis-stimulating factors, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), are used to prevent neutropenia and febrile neutropenia in patients with malignant lymphoma. The question as to whether G-CSF/GM-CSF improves dose-intensity, tumour response and overall survival (OS) has not yet been answered. As the results from single studies are inconclusive, a systematic review was performed to determine the effectiveness of G-CSF/GM-CSF. ⋯ G-CSF/GM-CSF did not decrease infection-related mortality (RR 2.07 [95% CI 0.81-5.34]), improve complete remission (CR) (RR 1.06 [95% CI 0.96-1.16]) or OS (HR 0.98 [95% CI 0.81-1.18]). In conclusion, G-CSF/GM-CSF given during conventional chemotherapy in malignant lymphoma patients reduced the RR of neutropenia, febrile neutropenia and infection. However, there is no evidence that G-CSF/GM-CSF improved CR and OS in this clinical setting.