Mahtani R, Crawford J, Flannery SM, et al. - By analyzing randomized clinical trials and observational studies, researchers investigated whether prophylactic pegfilgrastim [a long-acting granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF)] has effectiveness and safety in preventing febrile neutropenia (FN) among patients receiving biweekly (Q2W) chemotherapy regimens. To assess the evidence concerning efficacy, effectiveness, as well as safety of prophylactic pegfilgrastim vs no prophylactic pegfilgrastim or prophylaxis with other G-CSF in patients who were undergoing Q2W chemotherapy regimens with high (> 20%) or intermediate (10–20%) risk of FN for a non-myeloid cancer, experts analyzed 13 eligible publications. Tumor types included breast cancer, lymphoma, colon cancer, rectal cancer, gastric cancer, pancreatic cancer, esophageal cancer, and small bowel cancer. Findings proved the efficacy of prophylactic pegfilgrastim in decreasing the risk of FN in patients undergoing high- or intermediate-risk Q2W regimens for a variety of non-myeloid malignancies. Also, an acceptable safety profile of prophylactic pegfilgrastim was evident in such patients.