Continuous Subcutaneous Infusion to Sustain Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor During Lung Cancer Chemotherapy

We examined the effectiveness of sustained continuous subcutaneous infusion (CSI) of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) in neutropenia of lung cancer cases undergoing chemotherapy in comparison with daily subcutaneous infusion (SC). We treated 9 cases, all of whom were PS 0-1, under 75 years old, had never been treated previously and who had non-operable non-small cell lung cancer, by multiple combination chemotherapy consisting of 80mg/m2 dl CDDP, 3mg/m2 dl VDS, and 8mg/m2 dl MMC.G-CSF was given from days 4-17. The first course was 2μg/h (48μg/d) by CSI and the second course was 75μg/d by SC. Although the CSI dosage was 60% of the SC dosage, no significant difference was found during the period from the first day of chemotherapy in terms of the lowest neutrophil count and the period of the neutrophil count remaining below 1000/mm. We have not found any case report concerning this method but conclude that this makes safe chemotherapy possible for out-patients. We believe that this method will benefit patients making possible a better quality of life.