Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Original Article
  • Published:

Stem Cell Procurement

Plerixafor is effective and safe for stem cell mobilization in heavily pretreated germ cell tumor patients

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 46, pages 1053–1056 (2011)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Up to 10% of germ cell tumor patients require salvage high-dose chemotherapy with stem cell support, achieving cure rates in the range of 10–60%. Stem cell mobilization may be difficult in these patients because of multiple lines of treatment known to seriously hamper stem cell recovery. Plerixafor significantly enhances the success of the CD34+ cell harvest, even in cases where prior mobilization attempts have failed. Six germ cell tumor patients provided informed consent and were included in the compassionate use program. All patients were heavily pretreated, with a median of 3.5 prior lines of therapy. All failed prior mobilization with G-CSF in combination with chemotherapy. Five patients yielded a median of 2.6 × 106 CD34+ cells per kg body weight in a median of 4 apheresis days when plerixafor was used. Three patients underwent subsequent high-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell support. Median time to leukocyte engraftment was 11 days. Median time to platelet engraftment was 12.5 days, both of which are comparable to previous historical data. Accordingly, plerixafor seems to be safe and effective in germ cell tumor patients who have failed prior mobilization therapy. Larger prospective studies are warranted to further assess its use in germ cell cancer.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Daugaard G . Management of poor-prognosis or relapsed germ-cell cancer. BJU Int 2009; 104 (Part B): 1392–1397.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Kollmannsberger C, Beyer J, Bokemeyer C . High-dose chemotherapy in nonseminomatous germ cell cancer. BJU Int 2009; 104 (Part B): 1398–1403.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Leung AY, Kwong YL . Haematopoietic stem cell transplantation: current concepts and novel therapeutic strategies. Br Med Bull 2010; 93: 85–103.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Ford CD, Green W, Warenski S, Petersen FB . Effect of prior chemotherapy on hematopoietic stem cell mobilization. Bone Marrow Transplant 2004; 33: 901–905.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. DiPersio JF, Uy GL, Yasothan U, Kirkpatrick P . Plerixafor. Nat Rev Drug Discov 2009; 8: 105–106.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Devine SM, Vij R, Rettig M, Todt L, McGlauchlen K, Fisher N et al. Rapid mobilization of functional donor hematopoietic cells without G-CSF using AMD3100, an antagonist of the CXCR4/SDF-1 interaction. Blood 2008; 112: 990–998.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Tricot G, Cottler-Fox MH, Calandra G . Safety and efficacy assessment of plerixafor in patients with multiple myeloma proven or predicted to be poor mobilizers, including assessment of tumor cell mobilization. Bone Marrow Transplant 45: 63–68.

  8. DiPersio JF, Micallef IN, Stiff PJ, Bolwell BJ, Maziarz RT, Jacobsen E et al. Phase III prospective randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial of plerixafor plus granulocyte colony-stimulating factor compared with placebo plus granulocyte colony-stimulating factor for autologous stem-cell mobilization and transplantation for patients with non-Hodgkin′s lymphoma. J Clin Oncol 2009; 27: 4767–4773.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Donahue RE, Jin P, Bonifacino AC, Metzger ME, Ren J, Wang E et al. Plerixafor (AMD3100) and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) mobilize different CD34+ cell populations based on global gene and microRNA expression signatures. Blood 2009; 114: 2530–2541.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Fruehauf S, Veldwijk MR, Seeger T, Schubert M, Laufs S, Topaly J et al. A combination of granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and plerixafor mobilizes more primitive peripheral blood progenitor cells than G-CSF alone: results of a European phase II study. Cytotherapy 2009; 11: 992–1001.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Pusic I, Jiang SY, Landua S, Uy GI, Rettig MP, Cashen AF et al. Impact of mobilization and remobilization strategies on achieving sufficient stem cell yields for autologous transplantation. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 2008; 14: 1045–1056.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine II, Hematology, Stem Cell Transplantation with the section Pneumology, University Cancer Center Hamburg (Hubertus Wald Tumorzentrum), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

    S Kobold, J Isernhagen, N Kilic, C Bokemeyer & W Fiedler

  2. Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Internal Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilian-University, Munich, Germany

    S Kobold

  3. Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

    K Hübel

  4. 3rd Department of Medicine, Hematology and Oncology, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Wiesbaden, Germany

    C Bogner

  5. Department of Internal Medicine III, HSK Wiesbaden (Teaching Hospital of the University of Mainz), Wiesbaden, Germany

    N Frickhofen

Authors
  1. S Kobold
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. J Isernhagen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. K Hübel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. N Kilic
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. C Bogner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. N Frickhofen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. C Bokemeyer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. W Fiedler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to S Kobold.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

SK received a travel grant for the EHA meeting 2010 held in Barcelona, Spain from Genzyme. The authors declare no other conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kobold, S., Isernhagen, J., Hübel, K. et al. Plerixafor is effective and safe for stem cell mobilization in heavily pretreated germ cell tumor patients. Bone Marrow Transplant 46, 1053–1056 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/bmt.2010.264

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/bmt.2010.264

Keywords

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links