GRANULOCYTE-MACROPHAGE COLONY-STIMULATING FACTOR ACCELERATES HEMATOPOIETIC RECOVERY AFTER AUTOLOGOUS BONE-MARROW OR PERIPHERAL-BLOOD PROGENITOR-CELL TRANSPLANTATION AND HIGH-DOSE CHEMOTHERAPY FOR LYMPHOMA

The use of recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (rhGM-CSF) as an adjunct to autologous bone marrow transplanta tion (ABMT) or peripheral blood progenitor cell (PBPC) transplantation was evaluated in 59 lymphoma patients, Patients were divided into thr ee groups, In group I(n = 21) patients received rhGM-CSF (5 mu g/kg da ily) at the time of PBPC collection and during the recovery phase post -infusion, In group II (n = 12) patients received rhGM-CSF as an adjun ct to ABMT, In group III (n = 26) they were grafted with bone marrow w ithout rhGM-CSF, Administration of rhGM-CSF (groups I and II) signific antly reduced the time to myeloid engraftment, the number of febrile d ays and the median duration of antibiotics administration and of hospi tal stay when compared with the group in which patients did not receiv e rhGM-CSF, The only difference between ABMT and PBPC, given with rhGM -CSF support, was observed in the duration of hospitalization (group I > group II, P < 0.05), These data show that rhGM-CSF is highly effect ive in reducing the duration of aplasia following BMT and PBPC transfu sion, and there appears to be little difference in efficacy between th ese techniques, provided that patients also receive rhGM-CSF.