THE USE OF GM-CSF AND G-CSF IN THE TREATMENT OF ACUTE LEUKEMIAS

The administration of HGF after chemotherapy for patients with acute leukemia does not appear to decrease the CR rate or to increase the relapse rate while the risk of leukemic clone stimulation in this context is probably low, even in AML. Time to neutrophil recovery is generally reduced but in only a few studies does this result in a better CR rate. Up to now, the event free survival and the overall survival has never been prolonged by the administration of HGF after induction chemotherapy only. The attractive appoach of priming by HGF has not yet proved useful and many questions still remain regarding the optimal administration. Accordingly, one cannot recommend routine use of HGF in the treatment of acute leukemia. Longer follow up of the ongoing trials and further studies are still required in order to appreciate the exact impact of the use of GM-CSF or G-CSF for this particular indication.