Lenograstim (Granocyte®, Neutrogin®, Myelostim®) is a glycosylated recombinant human
granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. This article reviews the pharmacological properties, therapeutic efficacy and tolerability of
lenograstim, mainly focusing on its use in
chemotherapy-induced
neutropenia, acceleration of neutrophil recovery following haematopoietic
stem cell transplantation (HSCT), and peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) mobilization in patients with
cancer and healthy donors. In randomized, multicentre trials in patients with solid tumours,
lymphoma or
multiple myeloma, the durations of
chemotherapy-induced
neutropenia, hospitalization for
infection and intravenous antibacterial
therapy were significantly shorter in patients receiving
lenograstim prophylaxis than in those receiving placebo. The time to neutrophil recovery was also significantly shorter in patients with acute myeloid leukaemia or acute lymphoblastic leukaemia who received
lenograstim than in those who received placebo or no treatment, according to the results of randomized, multicentre trials. In addition,
lenograstim prophylaxis facilitated the administration of dose-intense or dose-dense
chemotherapy regimens, with improved clinical outcomes seen in some trials. In patients with
cancer undergoing HSCT,
lenograstim accelerated neutrophil recovery post-HSCT and shortened the duration of hospitalization, according to the results of randomized, multicentre trials.
Lenograstim effectively mobilized PBSCs in patients with
cancer, demonstrating generally similar efficacy to
filgrastim or
molgramostim in five randomized trials (although lower dosages of
lenograstim than
filgrastim were administered in four of the trials).
Lenograstim also provided effective PBSC mobilization in healthy donors and was more effective than
filgrastim when both drugs were administered at a dosage of 10 μg/kg/day. The efficacy and safety of
lenograstim for PBSC mobilization in healthy donors was supported by the results of a prospective, longer-term study involving almost 4000 healthy donors.
Lenograstim was generally well tolerated across a variety of treatment settings, including PBSC mobilization in healthy donors, with bone
pain being one of the most commonly reported adverse events. In conclusion,
lenograstim remains an important option for use in
chemotherapy-induced
neutropenia, acceleration of neutrophil recovery following HSCT, and PBSC mobilization.