Giant Cell Arteritis Related to Granulocyte-Colony-Stimulating Factor Administration

Abstract

Objective: Granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) is routinely used to mobilize stem cells for peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) collection by leukapheresis. Although generally considered safe and effective, G-CSF has been reported to cause severe side-effects in rare cases. Methods and Results: We report a case of a 65-year-old woman with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, who received G-CSF for PBSC mobilization for ten days and developed fever of unknown origin. She was diagnosed with giant cell arteritis (GCA) related to G-CSF with aortic involvement based on typical findings obtained by contrastenhanced computed tomography and treated with high-dose prednisone. Conclusion: GCA might have to be considered as a rare but severe side effect of G-CSF administration. Imaging studies may help to identify large vessel vasculitis in cases that cannot be confirmed by tissue biopsy.