Trends in the use of granulocyte colony stimulating factors for older patients with cancer, 2010 to 2019

Introduction

Older patients with cancer receiving myelosuppressive treatment are at an increased risk for developing febrile neutropenia (FN) or having chemotherapy dose-reductions or delays, resulting in suboptimal health outcomes. Granulocyte colony stimulating factors (G-CSF) are effective medications to reduce these adverse events and are recommended for patients $\ge$65 years receiving chemotherapy with >10 % FN risk. We sought to characterize the trends and predictors of G-CSF use between the youngest-old (66–74 years), middle-old (75–84 years), and oldest-old ($\ge$85 years) patients with cancer.

Materials and Methods

We used registry data from SEER-Medicare for breast, lung, ovarian, colorectal, esophageal, gastric, uterine, prostate, pancreatic cancer, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) diagnoses from 2010 to 2019. Cox proportional hazard analysis was used.

Results

Overall, 41.4 % of patients received G-CSF from chemotherapy initiation to three days after completion of the first chemotherapy course. The use rate remained relatively stable for all cancers, except for an increase in use for those with pancreatic cancer. G-CSF use decreased as patients got older. The oldest-old were 43.0 % (95 % confidence interval: 40.7–45.2 %) less likely to receive G-CSF compared to the youngest-old. Patients with breast cancer or NHL were more likely to receive G-CSF than those with other cancers. Patients who were female, married, White or Hispanic, and had fewer comorbidities were more likely to receive G-CSF.

Discussion

G-CSF is used less often in populations at higher risk of developing FN and related complications. Improving adherence to recommendations can improve health outcomes, especially in the oldest adults, older males, and Black patients.