Comparison of Progenitor Cell Collection on Day 4 or Day 5 After Steady-State Stimulation with G-CSF Alone in Breast Cancer Patients: Influence on CD34+Cell Yield, Subpopulation, and Breast Cancer Cell Contamination

Abstract
To determine the influence of apheresis timing on CD34+ cell yield, subpopulation, and breast cancer cell contamination, 48 women with breast cancer were stimulated from steady-state hematopoiesis in a prospective but nonrandomized study with 2 X 5 mug/kg G-CSF s.c. alone, and apheresis was started either on day 4 (n = 24) or day 5 (n = 24). Forty-eight women with breast cancer (stage II/III, n = 30; stage IV; n = 12; inflammatory, n = 6) and a median age of 44 years were well balanced between the two groups. In group I, aphersis was started on day 4 and additionally performed on day 5 after G-CSF stimulation, and in group II, apheresis was started on day 5. CD34+ cell count and CD34+ cell subpopulation were determined according to international criteria. Breast cancer cell contamination was detected by immunocytology. The median CD34+ cell harvest on day 4 was 3.3 X 106/kg body weight (range 0.5-12.8) and 6 X 106/kg BW (range 0.3-30) for patients starting on day 5 (p = 0.01). Those patients starting on day 4 achieved a median CD34+ cell count of 4 X 106/kg (range 0.7-13) on day 5 (NS). Twenty-one percent of group I and 71% of group II achieved >5 X 106/kg BW CD34+ cells in the first apheresis, whereas 6/kg BW CD34+ cells in the first apheresis were observed in 38% of group I and 16% of group II. No differences were observed between the CD34+ cell subpopulations, CD34+/CD38+ (10.5% versus 10.5%) and CD34+/Thy1+ (1.5% versus 1.8%). The CD34+ cell harvest from consecutive collecting on days 4 and 5 was nearly identical to the harvest starting on day 5 (6.4 versus 6 X 106/kg). Collecting CD34+ progenitor cells after stimulation with G-CSF alone on day 5 results in a significantly higher cell yield than starting collecting on day 4. No differences in respect to breast cancer cell contamination and CD34+ cell subpopulation were observed.

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