Bulletin du cancer
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The Standards, Options and Recommendations on the use of erythropoietin in cancer patients are recalled. The recent literature is analysed and allows some further comments to the SOR. Medico-economic aspects, new schedules of administration, extra-hematologic virtues of erythropoietin and its impact on cancer outcomes are debated.
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Neutropenia and its subsequent infectious complications represent the most common dose-limiting toxicity of cancer chemotherapy. Febrile neutropenia (FN) occurs with common chemotherapy regimens in 25 to 40 % of treatment-naive patients, and its severity depends on the dose intensity of the chemotherapy regimen, the patient's prior history and comorbidities. Neutropenia is associated with the risk of life-threatening infections as well as chemotherapy dose reductions and delays that may compromise treatment outcome. ⋯ Colony-stimulating factors (CSFs) such as granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) are now an integral part of the prevention of potentially life-threatening FN. Important uses of CSFs in oncology are prevention of FN after chemotherapy, treatment of FN, collection of CSF-mobilised peripheral stem cells and support following peripheral stem cells transplantation. This article reviews the data supporting the clearly clinical applications of CSFs in oncology.