RECENT EVIDENCE ON THE USE OF HUMAN GRANULOCYTE STIMULATING FACTORS AND ANALOGUES IN NEUTROPENIA: AN INTEGRATIVE LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

Neutropenia is the main limiting toxicity of chemotherapy, being an adverse effect associated with myelosuppression. Without the initial line of defense of neutrophils, the patient becomes vulnerable to febrile neutropenia, requiring interventions to prevent serious outcomes. In this context, recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factors (rhG-CSF) emerge as the main prophylaxis, significantly increasing the white blood cell count. This review seeks to integrate evidence to optimize neutropenia prophylaxis. For this, the PubMed (National Library of Medicine) and the Virtual Health Library (BVS) databases were used. The descriptors used were “neutropenia” and “rhG-CSF”, of which 25 met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The analyzed studies demonstrated that the pegylated form of rhG-CSF showed promise, due to its extended half-life, lower frequency of injections and reduced adverse effects. Other long-acting formulations, such as those with recombinant serum albumin and IgG4 fragment, were included, in addition to the use of rhG-CSF during the COVID-19 pandemic and its association with moxibustion. It is concluded that, although prolonged half-life formulations require further studies, they have the potential to expand prophylactic options against neutropenia.