Treatment with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor during chemotherapy reduces the incidence of neutropenia, but a retrospective analysis has failed to find a statistically significant impact on overall survival.
Data from three placebo-controlled and two noninferiority clinical trials of filgrastim and/or pegfilgrastim in 1,858 patients receiving myelosuppressive chemotherapy showed that 6- and 12-month survival rates were generally – but not statistically significantly – better among patients in the active arm versus placebo, according to Dr. Gary H. Lyman of the University of Washington, Seattle, and his coauthors (Ann. Oncol. 2015 April 7 [doi:10.1093/annonc/mdv174].
Patients with lung cancer who were treated with filgrastim showed a 3-month improvement in overall survival (hazard ratio, 0.81; 95% confidence interval, 0.48-1.35; P = 0.412), but a meta-analysis of placebo-controlled studies showed a nonsignificant trend towards improved overall survival.
“Prospective assessment of the effects of [granulocyte colony-stimulating factor] primary prophylaxis on long-term outcomes in patients with cancer receiving myelosuppressive chemotherapy is warranted,” the investigators wrote.
The study was funded by Amgen. Two authors declared research grants and funding from Amgen and two authors are employees of and own stock in Amgen.