Management of Chemotherapy Induced Neutropenia – an Unmet Clinical Need | Biomedgrid

One of the major side effects of cancer chemotherapy is myelosuppression leading to an obligate period of neutropenia. Systemic infection resulting in neutropenic sepsis is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in cancer patients. Due to these reasons chemotherapy induced neutropenia has been considered as an “oncologic emergency”. The current system of management of febrile neutropenia involves administration of prophylactic antimicrobials and hematopoietic growth factor supplements (granulocyte colony stimulating factor G-‐ CSF). However, neutropenia is detected in these patients only after the onset of infection limiting the efficacy of these therapeutic interventions. Repeated infections results in prolonged periods of hospitalisation, delay in treatment and chemotherapy dose reductions. Therefore, timely detection of neutrophil nadir and prevention of systemic infection can significantly improve the outcome of cancer treatment.