Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of domestically manufactured recombinant human thrombopoietin (rhTPO) in the treatment for chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia in patients with solid tumors.
Methods: A non-randomized controlled study was conducted. Seventy-two patients with platelet count < 75 x 10(9)/L after chemotherapy were enrolled into this study according to the standard criteria of NCI-CTC toxicity stratification. Thirty-five patients in the treatment-group received subcutaneous injection of rhTPO at a dose of 15,000 U/d, another 37 patients in the control group received subcutaneous injection of rhIL-11a at a dose of 3 mg/d as the paralleled control.
Results: The mean minimal platelet count after rhTPO treatment was (46.2 +/- 20.3) x 10(9)/L in the treatment-group versus (37.2 +/- 16.7) x 10(9)/L in the control-group (P < 0.05), while the mean maximal platelet count was (250.2 +/- 159.0) x 10(9)/L versus (160.5 +/- 96.4) x 10(9)/L (P < 0.05). The incidence rate of adverse effects and duration of grade III and IV thrombocytopenia in the treatment-group was also significantly lower than those in the control-group. Furthermore, the patients receiving platelet transfusion were 4/35 in the treatment-group versus 11/37 in the control-group (P > 0.05). The side-effect rate in the treatment-group was significantly lower than that in the control-group (11.4% versus 78.4%, P < 0.01).
Conclusion: Compared with rhIL-11, administration of rhTPO after chemotherapy is safe and effective with mild adverse effects in reducing the degree and duration of thrombocytopenia.