Cancer Health Center

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The administration of GM-CSF or other myeloid growth factors before and during induction therapy, to augment the effects of cytotoxic therapy through the recruitment of leukemic blasts into cell cycle (growth factor priming), has been an area of active clinical research. Evidence from randomized studies of GM-CSF priming have come to opposite conclusions. A randomized study of GM-CSF priming during conventional induction and postremission therapy showed no difference in outcomes between patients who received GM-CSF and those who did not receive growth factor priming.[13,14][Level of evidence: 1iiA] In contrast, a similar randomized placebo-controlled study of GM-CSF priming in patients with AML aged 55 to 75 years showed improved disease-free survival in the group receiving GM-CSF (median disease-free survival for patients who achieved complete remission was 23 months vs. 11 months; 2-year disease-free survival was 48% vs. 21%), with a trend towards improvement in overall survival (2-year survival was 39% vs. 27%, P = .082) for patients aged 55 to 64 years.[15][Level of evidence: 1iiDii]

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