Effect of Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor after Intensive Induction Therapy in Relapsed or Refractory Acute Leukemia

THROUGH recent progress in chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation, acute leukemia has become a curable disease. It has become clear, however, that intensive therapy is required to effect a cure, especially in acute myelogenous leukemia. 1 2 3 Myelosuppression from therapy and the infections that result have been the major obstacles in the treatment of acute leukemia. Recently, colony-stimulating factors have been molecularly cloned and produced in sufficient quantities to allow their use in clinical trials. 4 Recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (CSF) and granulocytemacrophage CSF are two of the factors that have been shown to increase the production of neutrophils in healthy volunteers . . .