Use of G-CSF alone to mobilize peripheral blood stem cells for collection from children.

We report the data of 19 children with neuroblastoma (NB) or Ewing's sarcoma (EW) who had peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs) harvested after mobilization by: (1) cyclophosphamide (CY) + etoposide + G-CSF, (2) CY + GM-CSF, or (3) G-CSF alone. There were no consistent differences in the number of PBSCs collected following these three different mobilization regimens as assessed by CFU-GM. 17 patients were reinfused with PBSCs after myeloablative therapy and had successful haemopoietic recovery. These results show that in children with solid tumours such as NB or EW a sufficient number of PBSCs can be collected after G-CSF alone, and that PBSCs collected following stimulation by G-CSF alone are as effective in reconstituting haemopoiesis as those collected after mobilizing chemotherapy + HGFs.