General clinical data of 88 patients with NPC.

BackgroundTo study the efficacy and safety of Polyethylene glycolated recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (PEG-rhG-CSF) in the prevention of neutropenia during concurrent chemoradiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).MethodsThis is a single-center, prospective, randomized controlled study conducted from June 1, 2021, to October 31, 2022 on patients diagnosed with locally advanced NPC. Participants were divided into an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group received PEG-rhG-CSF injections post-chemotherapy cycles, whereas the control group received standard care without additional intervention. Outcomes assessed included grade 3/4 neutropenia incidence, blood cell count changes, febrile neutropenia rates, delays or interruptions in chemotherapy/radiotherapy due to hematological toxicity, oral mucositis incidents, and bone pain occurrences, comparing these between both groups.Results1. 88 patients with locally advanced NPC were included, the incidence of grade 3 neutropenia in the experimental group was lower than that in the control group (P = 0.026); 2. The white blood cell count and neutrophil count in D7, D10, D14, and D21 in the experimental group were higher than those in the control group (PConclusionsThe preventive use of PEG-rhG-CSF decreases the incidence of neutropenia in patients undergoing concurrent chemoradiotherapy for NPC, thereby reducing rates of chemotherapy delays and radiotherapy interruptions, with mild adverse reactions that are tolerable by patients.