This six-page guideline summary is a 2006 update of the American Society of Clinical Oncology's (ASCO) recommendations for the use of white blood cell growth factors.

This guideline summary addresses the following topics:

• Primary prophylactic colony-stimulating factor (CSF) administration
• Secondary prophylactic CSF administration
• Therapeutic use of CSF
• Use of CSF to increase chemotherapy dose intensity and dose density
• Use of CSF as adjuncts to progenitor-cell transplantation
• Use of CSF in patients with acute leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes
• Use of CSF in patients receiving radiotherapy with or without concurrent chemotherapy
• Use of CSF in older patients (new topic)
• Use of CSF in the pediatric population
• CSF initiation, duration, dosing, and administration
• Special comments on comparative clinical activity of G-CSF and GM-CSF
• Special comments on growth factors as a treatment for radiation injury (new topic)
• Impact of CSF on quality of life and health care costs
• Clinical prediction and risk models

Four tables provide a summary the 2006 recommendations; a clinical prediction model for identifying patients at higher risk of complications; recommendations for CSF initiation, duration, dosing, and administration; and the incidence of hematologic and infectious toxicities associated with selected chemotherapy regimens. A summary of discussion and methodology, as well as information about additional resources, are also presented.