Résumé : PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Prevention of infectious complications of chemotherapy-induced granulocytopenia is a major issue in preventive medicine, as febrile neutropenia is still associated with an overall 10% mortality and extensive morbidity and cost. RECENT FINDINGS: The prescription of granulocyte colony-stimulating factors should not be determined according to a risk prediction of febrile neutropenia considering solely type of chemotherapy and according to cost-effectiveness; other factors appear now to be important for making the decision, namely age and the presence of various comorbid factors. SUMMARY: It is likely that the consideration of these newly recognized risk factors and the availability of more affordable granulocyte colony-stimulating factors will lead, in the near future, to an extension of the presently recognized indications for the prescription of granulocyte colony-stimulating factors.