Effects of short-term pretreatment with atorvastatin on mobilization of hematopoietic progenitor cells: A double-blind, randomized, controlled trial

Background: Despite recent advances in mobilization techniques, a considerable portion of patients fail to mobilize sufficient number of cells for successful autologous stem cell transplantation. There are several studies available that have demonstrated enhanced mobilization of endothelial progenitor cells with atorvastatin. Therefore, this prospective trial was conducted to evaluate the mobilizing effect of atorvastatin on hematopoietic progenitor cells. Subjects and Methods: Forty-four autologous HSCT candidates were randomized in a double-blind controlled trial to receive atorvastatin 40 mg daily or placebo plus standard G-CSF regimen. Treatment was initiated at the time of hospitalization and continued until the day of cell harvest. Independent-samples T-Test, Repeated Measures ANOVA and Mann-Whitney U test were performed to compare means. Categorical variables were analyzed using Chi-square and Fisher’s exact test. Results: Mean number of hematopoietic progenitor cells per microL of peripheral blood at the time of cell harvest did not differ significantly between the two groups. There was no statistically significant difference in secondary outcomes like time of platelet or PMN engraftment, occurrence of bleeding or infectious episode, duration of hospitalization and etc. Conclusion: The results of this study did not support beneficial effects of atorvastatin on mobilization of hematopoietic progenitor cells from bone marrow.