Introduction
 
Hematopoiesis, the orderly production of mature circulating blood cells from stem cells residing in the marrow, is described in Chapter 2. A host of hematopoietic growth factors and their receptors play essential roles in hematopoiesis. This chapter will focus on the hematopoietic growth factors that are in clinical use. Certain of these cytokines have been modified to alter their pharmacokinetic profile in vivo; these will also be discussed. Phage display techniques or high throughput screening programs have identified a number of novel small peptides or nonpeptide molecules that can bind to a hematopoietic growth factor receptor and mimic the . . . [Full Text of this Article]


Erythropoietin (epoetin alfa)
 
Chronic renal failure
Anemia in preterm infants
Anemia associated with human immunodeficiency virus infection
Anemia in patients with cancer receiving chemotherapy or radiation therapy
Reduction in allogeneic transfusion in surgery patients
Other uses of epoetin alfa

Darbepoetin alfa
 
Chronic renal failure
Anemia in patients with cancer receiving chemotherapy
Other uses of darbepoetin alfa

Thrombopoietin
 
Chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia
Other potential uses
Side effects

Interleukin-11 (oprelvekin)
 
Primary prevention of chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia
Secondary prevention of chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia
Potential uses
Side effects

Stem cell factor (ancestim)
 
Mobilization of peripheral blood stem cells
Side effects

Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (sargramostim, molgramostim)
 

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (filgrastim, lenograstim)
 
Clinical use of sargramostim and filgrastim
Acute myelogenous leukemia
Mobilize autologous peripheral blood stem cells and enhance neutrophil recovery after transplantation
Mobilize peripheral blood stem cells from normal donors for allogeneic transplantation
Accelerate neutrophil recovery after bone marrow transplantation
Improve neutrophil production in patients with delayed engraftment or graft failure after bone marrow transplantation
Accelerate neutrophil recovery following myelosuppressive chemotherapy
Febrile neutropenia
Severe chronic neutropenia (idiopathic, cyclic, congenital)
Myelodysplasia
Potential clinical uses of sargramostim
Potential clinical uses of filgrastim
Side effects of sargramostim or filgrastim

Pegylated methionyl G-CSF (pegfilgrastim)