BACKGROUND: Autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT) is commonly used in the treatment of lymphoma patients. G-CSF is widely used to boost white blood cell recovery. However, there are no clear data indicating which strategy of using G-CSF provides the most benefit. The aim of our study was to compare 3 strategies of G-CSF administration: from day +1, from day +5, and no administration.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data from 211 patients treated at 3 centers were gathered retrospectively. The patients in the 3 analyzed groups were not different in regard to type of disease, age, sex, and number of CD34+ cells received.

RESULTS: The 3 strategies of G-CSF dosage had very similar results. G-CSF boosted the recovery of white blood cells and shortened the time of neutropenia. However, there were no differences in confirmed infections and the duration of hospitalization after transplantation.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results question the use of G-CSF in a post-PBSCT setting, as it does not provide significant benefits in reducing the number of infections or shortening the duration of hospitalization.

Keywords: GCSF, autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation