ABSTRACT
Metastatic breast cancer is an incurable disease even with high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (ASCT). Even though phase III studies have not shown a survival advantage for this group as a whole, it is possible that a small subset of patients may benefit from HDC/ASCT with careful patient selection. A total of 198 patients from three different institutions were treated with HDC/ASCT. After complete staging, patients with central nervous system or bone marrow involvement were excluded. The HDC regimen consisted of: Carboplatin 600 mg/m(2) IV infusion over 48 hours, Thiotepa 300 mg/m(2) IV infusion over 2 hours, and Cytoxan 60 mg/kg IV infusion given over 2 hours x3 days. The median age at the time of transplant was 46 (24-62) years and median follow-up was 20 months. Hormone receptor status was known in 148 patients, of whom 84 had estrogen receptor (ER) and/or progestrone receptor (PgR)-positive tumors. Eighty patients had no evidence of disease at the time of HDC/ASCT (CR1). At the completion of HDC and ASCT, complete responses (CR) were seen in an additional 57 patients (CR2). Using Kaplan-Meier analysis, the median relapse-free survival (RFS) for the entire group was 15 months and overall survival (OS) was 27 months. The patients in CR1 had a median RFS and OS of 20.7 and 50.6 months, respectively. This was very similar to the RFS and OS in patients achieving CR2 after HDC/ASCT (p < 0.001; median: 19 and 40 months, respectively). In contrast, the patients with persistent residual disease had an RFS and OS of 7 and 12 months (p < 0.001). These data show that patients achieving a CR after HDC/ASCT have a better relapse-free and OS, when compared to patients with persistent residual disease after HDC/ASCT. This study suggests that a subset of patients with residual metastatic breast cancer after standard chemotherapy can achieve CR with HDC and ASCT which may result in better long-term outcome.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use , Breast Neoplasms/pathology , Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation , Adult , Breast Neoplasms/mortality , Combined Modality Therapy , Disease-Free Survival , Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Neoplasm Metastasis , Remission Induction , Survival Rate , Transplantation, AutologousABSTRACT
We evaluated the results of high-dose therapy (HDT) and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in patients with relapsed or primary refractory Hodgkin's disease (HD), using a previously reported prognostic model based on the presence of three poor prognostic factors at the start of salvage therapy/preparative regimen: B symptoms, extranodal disease and the duration of last complete response of less than 1 year. Based on this model, the patients were divided into low-risk and high-risk groups. Between 1993 and 2001, 24 patients with HD were treated with HDT and ASCT. Eighteen of the 24 patients had 0-1 risk factors (low-risk group) and 6 patients had 2-3 risk factors (high-risk group). Using Kaplan-Meier analysis, after a median follow-up of 40.5 months, the progression-free survival (PFS) was 48%, and the overall survival (OS) was 55%. PFS in the low-risk group was 56%, and in the high-risk group 17% (p < 0.001). OS in the low-risk group was 68% and in the high-risk group it was 18% (p < 0.001). The 100-day transplant-related mortality for the entire group was 16%. Our results are comparable to those reported in previous clinical trials for patients with refractory and relapsed HD treated with HDT and ASCT. The use of a prognostic model appears useful for predicting the outcome of HDT and ASCT for HD patients, and may play an important role in choosing the appropriate therapy for these patients.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Agents/therapeutic use , Hodgkin Disease/therapy , Models, Statistical , Stem Cell Transplantation , Adolescent , Adult , Antineoplastic Agents/administration & dosage , Antineoplastic Agents/adverse effects , Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/administration & dosage , Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/adverse effects , Carmustine/administration & dosage , Carmustine/adverse effects , Cyclophosphamide/administration & dosage , Cyclophosphamide/adverse effects , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Etoposide/administration & dosage , Etoposide/adverse effects , Female , Hodgkin Disease/drug therapy , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Prognosis , Stem Cell Transplantation/adverse effects , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) is the treatment of choice for selected patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). However, it is associated with a high risk of treatment-related mortality (TRM) and morbidity. To assist in decision making about transplantation, a simple scoring system to assess the risk is needed. We analyzed the utility of a scoring system, first reported by the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT). We analyzed the data from 31 patients who underwent allogeneic transplantation at our institution, using the EBMT scoring system. It was based on five pretransplant risk factors: donor type, stage of disease at time of transplantation, age of recipient, sex of donor and recipient, and interval between diagnosis and transplant. Seventeen patients had a risk score of 0-2, and 14 patients had a score of 3-7. Using Kaplan-Meier analysis, the estimated 4-year leukemia-free (LFS) and overall survival (OS) for patients with a score of 0-2 were 47 and 53%, respectively. In contrast, the estimated 4-year LFS and OS for patients with a score of 3-7 were 10.5 and 10.5%, respectively. Four-year TRM was 47% for the low-risk group (0-2), and 85% for the high-risk group (3- 7). This simple scoring system may play an important role in predicting the outcome of allogeneic SCT, and in choosing the appropriate therapy for patients with CML.
