Background: Few data are available on the efficacy of and tolerance to palifermin in the preventive treatment of oral mucositis in autograft patients treated with conditioning protocols usually used in France.
Methods: Our retrospective study bears on the first five candidates for autograft who benefited from prophylactic treatment with palifermin (60 microg/kg/day) between December 2005 and March 2006.
Results: Despite the prophylactic treatment, 3 patients developed severe oral mucositis. Moreover, in 3 patients, palifermin was found to be responsible for the onset of severe toxidermia, which required, in 2 cases, interruption of the treatment.
Conclusion: These results need to be confirmed by a larger study that would also make it possible to evaluate the impact of palifermin on morbi-mortality in autograft patients in France, and to determine the safety profile of this drug.