Lipegfilgrastim in patients with chemotherapy-induced neutropenia

The development of dose-limiting toxicities, including myelotoxicity, can significantly limit cytostatic therapy of malignant tumors. Neutropenia associated with high risk of febrile neutropenia (FN) and infectious complications that may interfere with therapy intensity and significantly increases the cost of diagnosis and treatment. With the development of recombinant forms of human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, therapy of iatrogenic neutropenia has undergone significant changes. The use of G-CSF (filgrastim, lenograstim, pegfilgrastim) reduces FN incidence in patients receiving myelosuppressive chemotherapy. Until recently, the only original preparation of G-CSF with prolonged action was pegfilgrastim. Lipegfilgrastim (Lonquex, Teva) is a new highly effective long-acting pegylated G-CSF, which has been approved by European Medicines Agency experts for FN prevention in patients receiving chemotherapy. This review summarizes the characteristics of chemical structure, pharmacokinetics, safety and efficacy of lipegfilgrastim.