# Twice or once a day? Filgrastim dosing schedule for peripheral hematopoietic stem cells mobilization

## TL;DR

This study compares once-daily and twice-daily dosing of filgrastim for mobilizing stem cells in healthy donors and finds both methods equally effective.

## Contribution

The study provides evidence that a single daily dose of filgrastim is as effective as a split dose for stem cell mobilization.

## Key findings

- White blood cell and CD34+ cell counts were higher on the fifth day in the twice-daily group.
- No significant difference was found in CD34+ cell collection on the first apheresis day between the two groups.
- The number of apheresis procedures needed was similar in both dosing schedules.

## Abstract

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) is the most prevalently used growth factor for peripheral blood hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) mobilization. Most centers split the granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in two daily doses, whereas some centers administer one dose per day. This study aims to investigate the effect of the filgrastim dosing schedule on the quantity of hematopoietic stem cells collected after mobilization in healthy donors.

A total of 251 healthy donors mobilized in our center were included in the study. Mobilization was either once a day (filgrastim 1 × 10 mg/kg/day) or twice a day (filgrastim 2 × 5 mg/kg/day).

White blood cell and peripheral CD34+ cell numbers were significantly higher in the Twice-a-day Group on the fifth day compared to the Once-a-day Group. No statistically significant difference was shown between the two groups regarding the number of CD34+ cells collected on the first apheresis day or the number of apheresis procedures needed to achieve the targeted number of CD34+ cells.

This study revealed that one daily dose of 10 mg/kg filgrastim is as effective as administering the same dose split on two days for an adequate amount of CD34+ cells in healthy donors.