Application of pegylated recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (PEG-rhG-CSF) for the prevention of neutropenia in triple negative breast cancer patients older than 65 years during adjuvant chemotherapy

Abstract

Abstract Objective The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of pegylated recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (PEG-rhG-CSF) and recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) for the prevention of neutropenia in elderly breast cancer patients during adjuvant chemotherapy. Methods A total of 45 oncology inpatients with breast cancer, who received adjuvant chemotherapy and were older than 65 years from May 2017 to October 2018 in the General Hospital of the Northern Theater of the Chinese people's Liberation Army, were included. Epirubivin Cyclophoshamide-Docetaxel (EC-T) sequential adjuvant chemotherapy was chosen. Forty-five patients were randomly divided into two groups; 25 patients in the treatment group were treated with PEG-rhG-CSF and 20 patients in the control group were not treated with PEG-rhG-CSF, but only rhG-CSF. The experimental group was treated with the PEG-rhG-CSF at the end of chemotherapy for 24-48 h, with a 6 mg subcutaneous injection once per chemotherapy cycle. In the control group, rhG-CSF was administered after 48 h of chemotherapy, with a 100 µg subcutaneous injection, 1/d, d 1-7. The dosage could be increased step by step with the exacerbation of neutropenia. The primary aims of this study was to discover the incidence of leukopenia, neutropenia, neutrophilic fever, and adverse reactions in the two groups. Results The incidence of neutropenia, neutrophilic fever and adverse reactions decreased in the treatment group compared to the control group, but no significant difference existed between two groups (P > 0.05). Patients in treatment group had a lower, but not statistically significant, incidence of adverse reactions (P > 0.05). Conclusion Applying PEG-rhG-CSF could be effective in preventing neutropenia in elderly patients with postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy to treat breast cancer. It may effectively control the occurrence of neutropenia after chemotherapy and reduce the chance of infection. The incidence of side effects, such as fever and bone pain, was low. The adverse drug reactions were well tolerated by patients, which could ensure the smooth progress of chemotherapy.