Induction, mobilization of peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC), high-dose chemotherapy and PBSC infusion in patients with untreated stage IV breast cancer: outcomes by intent to treat analyses

Paclitaxel and Trastuzumab as Maintenance Therapy in Patients with HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer Who Underwent High-Dose Chemotherapy and Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

We examined the feasibility and safety of using paclitaxel and trastuzumab as maintenance therapy after high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) with autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHST) for patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. Ten patients (9 women and 1 man) were enrolled in the study. The median age was 46.5 years (range, 27-65 years). The median follow-up time was 1003 days (range, 216-2526 days). All patients had metastatic disease, but 2 had only bone metastasis. One patient had complete response, 6 had partial response and 3 had stable disease to the standard-dose chemotherapy prior to transplantation. The conditioning regimen consisted of cyclophosphamide, carmustine, and thiotepa. After AHST, patients received weekly paclitaxel for 12 doses and trastuzumab every 3 weeks for 1 year as maintenance therapy. All patients experienced successful engraftment. The only grade 4 toxic effects observed were leukopenia and thrombocytopenia. The most common grade 3 toxic effect was neutropenic fever. No treatment-related deaths were observed. The median progression-free survival time was 441 days, and the median overall survival time was 955 days. Two patients died in accidents while their disease remained in remission. Five patients died with disease progression. At the time of this report, 3 patients are alive with stable disease, 1 of whom has remained free of disease progression for 2526 days since transplantation. Our findings indicate that paclitaxel plus trastuzumab as maintenance therapy after HDC with AHST for patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer not only is feasible and safe but also results in survival outcomes similar to historical results.

Interleukin-2 and granulocyte-macrophage-colony-stimulating factor immunomodulation with high-dose chemotherapy and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for patients with metastatic breast cancer

Immunomodulation with cytokines was used to improve the result of high-dose chemotherapy (HDC)/autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHST). We examined the use of IL-2 and growth factors for mobilization, ex vivo activation of peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) and maintenance therapy after HDC/AHST in metastatic breast cancer. Eligible patients with metastatic breast cancer for HDC/AHST were assigned to 1 of 3 protocols for PBSC mobilization: G-CSF (group 1); IL-2 + G-CSF (group 2); or IL-2 + G-CSF + GM-CSF (group 3). HDC with cyclophosphamide, carmustine and thiotepa was given from day -7 to -5. PBSCs were treated ex vivo with IL-2 for 24 h and reinfused on day 0. Maintenance therapy included low-dose IL-2, followed by 2 courses of intermediate-dose IL-2. GM-CSF was given from day 1 until neutrophil recovery. Thirty-four patients (10 in group 1, 14 in group 2, and 10 in group 3) were included. Comparable numbers of CD34(+) cells were collected from all 3 groups; incremental increases of CD3(+) cells were collected from groups 1 to 2 and to 3 (p = 0.03). Major adverse effects from IL-2 were fever, hypotension and fatigue; no treatment-related mortality was seen. At a median follow-up of 790.5 days (range 150-2,722 days), median progression-free survival was 434 days and median overall survival was 1,432 days. Estimated 3-year progression-free and overall survival rates were 31 and 57%. Our study suggested that the use of IL-2 and growth factors immunomodulation with HDC/AHST was feasible with comparable survival rates.

High-Dose Chemotherapy and Autologous Stem Cell Transplant in Women With De Novo Chemosensitive Metastatic Breast Cancer

The prognosis of patients with de novo stage IV breast cancer seems to be similar to that of patients with metastatic disease. Because these patients have not been exposed to prior therapy, the use of high dose chemotherapy (HDCT) may be beneficial. Twenty-four newly diagnosed (median age 42) responding metastatic breast cancer patients underwent HDCT (Stamp V) and stem cell support as their initial treatment. The predominant sites of metastatic disease were bone (12), lung (5), liver (2), lymph nodes (6), marrow (4), and soft-tissue (1). Estrogen/progesterone receptors were positive in 35%, negative in 45%, and unknown in 20%. Before transplantation, 10 patients were in complete remission (CR), 6 were in partial remission (PR), and 8 were inevaluable. Radiotherapy was administered to sites of documented metastatic disease. Tamoxifen was given to patients with receptor positive and unknown tumor status. After a median follow-up of 60 months from diagnosis (range 42 to 96 months), 15 patients have relapsed and 10 died. Mean and median progression free survival from transplant are 53 (SE 6.6, CI 40-66) and 60 (SE 18, CI 25-96) months, respectively. The median survival has not yet been achieved (>6 years). There was no treatment-related mortality. The use of HDCT in patients with chemosensitive, de novo metastatic breast cancer is safe and well tolerated. Overall clinical outcome is good; however, this study cannot determine whether this was due to treatment or selection bias.

High-dose thiotepa, melphalan and carboplatin (TMCb) followed by autologous stem cell transplantation in patients with advanced breast cancer: a retrospective evaluation

This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of high-dose thiotepa, melphalan and carboplatin (TMCb) regimen in 27 patients undergoing autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) for metastatic breast cancer. A total of 27 patients with stage IV breast cancer underwent ASCT following thiotepa (500 mg/m(2)), melphalan (100 mg/m(2)) and carboplatin (1200-1350 mg/m(2)). Of 27 patients, 17 had refractory relapse, eight had responding relapse, and two had no evidence of disease (NED) at the time of transplant. In all, 11 patients had only bone disease, nine had bone plus visceral disease, three had only visceral disease, and two had locoregional recurrent disease. The median time from diagnosis to transplant was 1081 days (range 180-2341). Staging for evaluation of response was performed 4-6 months after transplantation. Five patients were not evaluable (NE) for response because of NED at transplant (n=2) or early death due to transplant-related complications (n=3) (two of viral pneumonia and one of regimen-related toxicity) occurring at a median of 4 days (range 11-46) post-transplant. One of the two patients who was NED at the time of transplant is still NED on day 760 post-transplant. Seven of 15 refractory (47%) and 5/7 (71%) responsive patients with evaluable disease achieved a complete response of all measurable disease or all soft-tissue disease with at least improvement in bone lesions. Of 27 patients (37%),(10) are alive and progression-free, a median of 582 days (range 410-1380) after treatment, 6/17 (35%) with refractory disease and 4/10 (40%) with responsive disease. The probability of progression-free survival (PFS) for all patients was 0.50. The probabilities of PFS at 2 years for patients with refractory (n=17) and responsive (n=10) disease were 0.42 and 0.60, respectively. PFS at 2 years for the 14 patients who were NED or achieved CR/PR(*) following-HDC was 0.67. PFS at 2 years for patients who did not achieve CR/PR(*) following-DHC was 0.33. These preliminary data suggest that high-dose TMCb followed by autologous stem cell transplantation is an effective regimen for patients with advanced breast cancer and may be comparable to some previously used regimens.

High-dose chemotherapy and CD34-selected peripheral blood progenitor cell transplantation for patients with breast cancer metastatic to bone and/or bone marrow

Fifty women with breast cancer metastatic to bone or bone marrow involvement on light microscopy at the time of initial evaluation were treated with high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) and peripheral blood progenitor cell (PBPC) transplantation with CD34(+) cell selection using the Isolex 300i system. All patients received induction chemotherapy. PBPC were mobilized with chemotherapy and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. The median CD34(+) progenitor purity was 94.7% (range 72-98.7%) and recovery 38.4% (range 21-60%). Forty-eight hours after HDC with cyclophosphamide, cisplatin and carmustine, PBPC were reinfused. Median time to neutrophil count >0.5 x 10(9)/l was 9 (range 9-12) days and to platelet transfusion independence 11 (4-30) days. These data demonstrate that selected CD34(+) PBPCs allow rapid hematologic reconstitution after HDC. During follow-up, 23% of patients developed herpes zoster. Two patients developed cytomegalovirus infections. Three patients developed fungal infections. The development of these infections was not associated with steroid use but appeared more frequently in patients with diabetes mellitus. Seventy-four per cent of patients received steroids for pulmonary toxicity. Treatment-related mortality was 4%. Progression-free survival and overall survival at 35 months was 22.4% and 40.5%, with a median of 11.4 months and 15.4 months, respectively.

High-Dose Chemotherapy with Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Support for Operable Locally Advanced Noninflammatory Carcinoma of the Breast

The purpose of this study was to determine outcomes for patients with operable noninflammatory stage IIIA/B locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) with positive axillary lymph nodes receiving high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) with peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) support. One hundred fifteen patients with LABC who were no evidence of disease (NED) after initial surgery received standard dose induction chemotherapy, chemotherapy for mobilization of PBSC, and high-dose cyclophosphamide, thiotepa, and carboplatin with PBSC support for adjuvant therapy. Following hematopoietic recovery, all patients were scheduled to receive radiation therapy and tamoxifen was administered if the primary tumor was estrogen receptor/progesterone receptor (ER/PR) positive. Eighty-eight percent of patients were admitted to the hospital following HDC for a median of 11 days (range 3-26) and 12% were treated entirely as outpatients. There was one treatment-related death (0.9%) from infection occurring on day 8 after HDC. Forty-four (38%) have relapsed at a median of 20 months (range 10-55) from diagnosis, 11 (10%) with local-regional and 33 (28%) with metastatic disease. The probabilities of overall (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) for all 115 patients at 3 years were 0.73 and 0.61, respectively, with a median follow-up of 42 months (range 10-89) from diagnosis. In univariate and multivariate analyses, no factors could be identified that were statistically predictive for OS or EFS. However, there were trends for patients with ER/PR-negative primary tumors to have worse OS (p = 0.16) and EFS (p = 0.10) than patients with ER/PR-positive tumors. This adjuvant combined modality strategy incorporating HDC is safe and compares favorably to historical studies of neoadjuvant or adjuvant treatment for LABC. Further attempts to improve outcomes of patients with LABC receiving HDC are warranted.

Mobilization of peripheral blood stem cells following myelosuppressive chemotherapy: a randomized comparison of filgrastim, sargramostim, or sequential sargramostim and filgrastim

Myelosuppressive chemotherapy is frequently used for mobilization of autologous CD34(+) progenitor cells into the peripheral blood for subsequent collection and support of high-dose chemotherapy. The administration of myelosuppressive chemotherapy is typically followed by a myeloid growth factor and is associated with variable CD34 cell yields and morbidity. The two most commonly used myeloid growth factors for facilitation of CD34 cell harvests are granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). We performed a randomized phase III clinical trial comparing G-CSF, GM-CSF, and sequential administration of GM-CSF and G-CSF following administration of myelosuppressive chemotherapy. We evaluated CD34 yields, morbidity, and cost-effectiveness of the three cytokine schedules. One hundred and fifty-six patients with multiple myeloma, breast cancer, or lymphoma received cyclophosphamide with either paclitaxel or etoposide and were randomized to receive G-CSF 6 microg/kg/day s.c., GM-CSF 250 microg/m(2)/day s.c., or GM-CSF for 6 days followed by G-CSF until completion of the stem cell harvest. Compared with patients who received GM-CSF, patients who received G-CSF had faster recovery of absolute neutrophil count to 0.5 x 10(9) per liter (median of 11 vs14 days, P = 0.0001) with fewer patients requiring red blood cell transfusions (P= 0.008); fewer patients with fever (18% vs 52%, P = 0.001); fewer hospital admissions (20% vs 42%, P = 0.13); and less intravenous antibiotic therapy (24% vs 59%, P = 0.001). Patients who received G-CSF also yielded more CD34 cells (median 7.1 vs 2.0 x 10(6) kg per apheresis, P = 0.0001) and a higher percentage achieved 2.5 x 10(6) CD34 cells per kilogram (94% vs 78%, P = 0.21) and 5 x 10(6) CD34 cells per kilogram (88% vs 53%, P = 0.01) or more CD34 cells per kilogram with fewer aphereses (median 2 vs 3, P = 0.002) and fewer days of growth factor treatment (median 12 vs 14, P = 0.0001). There were no significant differences in outcomes between groups receiving G-CSF alone and the sequential regimen. After high-dose chemotherapy, patients who had peripheral blood stem cells mobilized with G-CSF or the sequential regimen received higher numbers of CD34 cells and had faster platelet recovery with fewer patients requiring platelet transfusions than patients receiving peripheral blood stem cells mobilized by GM-CSF. In summary, G-CSF alone is superior to GM-CSF alone for the mobilization of CD34(+) cells and reduction of toxicities following myelosuppressive chemotherapy. An economic analysis evaluating the cost-effectiveness of these three effective schedules is ongoing at the time of this writing.

High-dose chemotherapy with hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation for breast cancer: current status, future trends

High-dose chemotherapy with hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HDC/HSCT) has been extensively studied as a potential treatment for breast cancer. A literature search of MEDLINE from January 1990 through December 1999 identified 497 published full papers. Of these articles, 120 reported the results of clinical trials, 78 were reviews, and 299 reported on issues related to the technology of peripheral stem cells, supportive care, and toxicity. The phase II data must be interpreted with caution, as it is subject to selection bias; transplant recipients tended to be younger, rigorously staged, and selected to be chemotherapy responsive. There continues to be controversy regarding the role of high-dose therapy in this disease. Only a few fully published randomized trials are available; these studies were powered only to detect large differences in survival and no benefit was shown. Several large controlled trials are either in progress or are too early for definitive analysis. This review analyzes the current literature on HDC/HSCT for breast cancer, identifying prognostic factors and discussing ongoing research designed to improve antitumor effects.

High-dose busulfan, melphalan and thiotepa as consolidation for non-inflammatory high-risk breast cancer

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the toxicity and efficacy of high-dose busulfan, melphalan and thiotepa (Bu/Mel/TT) in patients with high-risk non-inflammatory breast cancer defined as stage II disease > or =10 lymph nodes (n = 52) or stage III (n = 69), and prognostic factors for treatment outcome. One hundred and twenty-one patients (median age, 46 years) were treated with high-dose Bu (12 mg/kg), Mel (100 mg/m2) and TT (500 mg/m2) (HDC) followed by autologous stem cell infusion (ASCI). One hundred patients were initially treated with surgery followed by standard adjuvant chemotherapy prior to HDC/ASCI. Twenty-one patients with stage III disease had inoperable tumors at diagnosis and were treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and surgery before HDC/ASCI. Transplant-related mortality was 6%. The probabilities of event-free survival (EFS) at 3 and 5 years (median follow-up of 36 months) from transplant were, for all patients: 0.62-0.60; stage II: 0.71-0.67: stage III: 0.55-0.55 (for stage III adjuvant and neoadjuvant groups: 0.60-0.60 and 0.42-0.42, respectively). Multivariate analysis did not identify variables associated with poor outcome. The efficacy of Bu/Mel/TT is similar to other HDC regimens reported for patients with high-risk non-inflammatory breast cancer. Bu/Mel/TT has high activity in stage II disease and a moderate benefit in stage III operable tumors.

High dose chemotherapy and autologous blood stem cell support in women with breast carcinoma and isolated supraclavicular lymph node metastases

BACKGROUND

The prognosis of patients with isolated supraclavicular lymph node (SCN) metastases is similar to patients with metastatic breast carcinoma involving other sites. Because these patients have a lower disease burden compared with women with distant metastases, their outcome after high dose chemotherapy (HDCT) may be superior.

METHODS

The authors evaluated event free survival (EFS) and overall survival in a series of 20 consecutive women with SCN metastases as the only site of metastatic disease who were treated with HDCT and peripheral blood stem cell transplantation at The Toronto Hospital. All patients had responded to 4-6 cycles of induction CT using either an anthracycline-containing regimen or a single agent taxane, and received intensive therapy comprised of mitoxantrone, 64 mg/m(2); cyclophosphamide, 6000 mg/m(2); and carboplatin, 800-2000 mg/m(2), each divided over 4 days followed by the infusion of autologous peripheral blood stem cells. Involved field radiation therapy (RT) was administered when possible after transplantation to the supraclavicular fossa and tamoxifen was given to previously untreated patients if they were hormone receptor positive or if their hormone receptor status was unknown.

RESULTS

At a median follow-up of 28 months, 13 of the 20 women were alive, 11 of whom (55%) remained in continuous complete remission. There were no treatment-related deaths. The median overall survival was 37 months and the median progression free survival was 32 months from the date of transplantation. Consolidative RT was delivered to 11 women and on univariate analysis was found to be significantly associated with better EFS (P = 0.02).

CONCLUSIONS

The long term outcome of women with breast carcinoma and isolated SCN metastases whose disease is sensitive to CT appears to be favorable; whether this result is superior to that achieved with standard therapy alone remains to be confirmed in prospective, randomized trials.

Randomized trial of filgrastim, sargramostim, or sequential sargramostim and filgrastim after myelosuppressive chemotherapy for the harvesting of peripheral-blood stem cells

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of filgrastim, sargramostim, or sequential sargramostim and filgrastim on CD34(+) cell yields and morbidity after myelosuppressive mobilization chemotherapy (MC).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

One hundred fifty-six patients were randomized to receive filgrastim (n = 51), sargramostim (n = 52), or sargramostim for 5 days followed by filgrastim (n = 53) after MC with either cyclophosphamide and etoposide (n = 75) or paclitaxel and cyclophosphamide (n = 81).

RESULTS

Compared with those who received sargramostim, patients who received filgrastim had faster recovery of an absolute neutrophil count of 0.5 x 10(9)/L or greater (a median of 11 v 14 days; P =. 0001), with fewer patients requiring RBC transfusions (P =.008), fewer patients with fever (18% v 52%; P = 0.001), fewer hospital admissions (20% v 42%; P =.013), and less intravenous antibiotic therapy (24% v 69%; P =.001). Patients who received filgrastim yielded more CD34(+) cells (median, 7.1 v 2.0 x 10(6)/kg/apheresis; P =.0001), and a higher fraction achieved 2.5 x 10(6) (94% v 78%; P =.021) and 5 x 10(6) (88% v 53%; P =.001) or more CD34(+) cells/kg with fewer aphereses (median, 2 v 3; P =.002) and fewer days of growth-factor treatment (median, 12 v 14; P =.0001). There were no major differences in outcomes between the filgrastim alone and the sequential regimens. After high-dose chemotherapy, patients who had peripheral-blood stem cells (PBSCs) mobilized with filgrastim or the sequential regimen received higher numbers of CD34(+) cells and had faster platelet recovery (P =.015), with fewer patients (P =.014) receiving fewer platelet transfusions (P =.001) than patients receiving sargramostim-mobilized PBSCs.

CONCLUSION

It was concluded that filgrastim alone or sequential sargramostim and filgrastim were superior to sargramostim alone for the mobilization of CD34(+) cells and reduction of toxicities after MC.

Single-agent paclitaxel in patients with metastatic breast cancer receiving high-dose chemotherapy with peripheral blood stem cell support

The purpose of this trial was to determine the effects of paclitaxel in patients with newly diagnosed metastatic breast cancer scheduled to receive high-dose chemotherapy with peripheral blood stem cell support. Eighty-four patients received anthracycline-based induction and two doses of paclitaxel at 170 mg/m2 (n = 52) or 250 mg/m2 (n = 32). Eighty-two (98%) received cyclophosphamide and etoposide (n = 50) or paclitaxel and cyclophosphamide (n = 32) with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor for mobilization of peripheral blood stem cells, and 79 (94%) received cyclophosphamide, thiotepa, and carboplatin with peripheral blood stem cell support. One patient (1%) died of infection and 56 (67%) died of progressive disease. For patients with measurable disease, the complete response rate was 21% after induction and 29% after paclitaxel (p = 0.54). Results were compared with those of 125 patients who received the same sequence of therapy without paclitaxel. The complete response rate after high-dose chemotherapy was 54% for patients receiving paclitaxel and 62% for those not receiving paclitaxel (p = 0.60). The probabilities of overall survival and event-free survival at 3 years for patients receiving paclitaxel were 46% and 24%, respectively, compared with 54% and 22%, respectively, for patients not receiving paclitaxel (p = 0.62). Further trials evaluating this dose and schedule of paclitaxel in patients with metastatic breast cancer receiving high-dose chemotherapy are not warranted.

Adjuvant dose-intense chemotherapy with peripheral blood stem cell support in stage II-III breast cancer with five to nine involved axillary lymph nodes

The purpose of this study is to determine outcomes for patients with high-risk nonmetastatic breast cancer undergoing high-dose chemotherapy with peripheral blood stem cell support. Forty-three patients with stage II-III disease, five to nine positive axillary lymph nodes, and a median age of 44 years (range, 27-60 years) were enrolled in a study that included: 1) standard dose doxorubicin, 5-fluorouracil, and methotrexate adjuvant therapy; 2) cyclophosphamide, etoposide, filgrastim, and peripheral blood stem cell harvest; and 3) high-dose cyclophosphamide, thiotepa, and carboplatin (CTCb) followed by peripheral blood stem cell infusion. All 43 patients received doxorubicin, 5-fluorouracil, and methotrexate, 42 (98%) received etoposide, and 41 (95%) received CTCb. Thirty-two patients (74%) are alive, 28 (65%) without relapse at a median of 55 months (range, 41-87 months). Two died (5%) of treatment-related causes, (subclavian catheter complication after etoposide and late radiation pneumonitis), and nine other deaths (21%) were associated with recurrent breast cancer. The probabilities of overall and event-free survival at 4 years were 0.77 and 0.67, respectively, compared with 0.82 and 0.69, respectively, for 72 similar patients with 10 or more positive axillary nodes receiving the same sequence of therapy. Thus, patients with five to nine positive axillary lymph nodes have a similar risk of failure after high-dose chemotherapy and peripheral blood stem cell support as patients with 10 or more positive axillary lymph nodes.

Prognostic factors in patients with isolated recurrences of breast cancer (stage IV-NED)

BACKGROUND

One to 10% of women with metastatic breast cancer have a recurrence of their disease as an isolated lesion (local, regional, or distant) which may be treated by surgical resection, irradiation, or both. These are patients with stage IV breast cancer with no evidence of disease, or stage IV-NED. Because natural history and prognostic factors for patients with stage IV-NED are poorly determined, we decided to evaluate a group of patients with stage IV-NED treated at a single institution.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Ninety-six patients with isolated recurrence of stage IV breast cancer were analyzed retrospectively. Treatment of loco-regional or distant recurrence was surgery in 18 patients and surgery plus irradiation in 78 patients. Seventy-nine patients received systemic therapy after loco-regional treatment (24 chemotherapy and 55 hormonotherapy). Prognostic factors were analyzed and correlated with disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS).

RESULTS

Five-year DFS and OS for the whole group were 29% and 49%, respectively. On the univariate analysis, patients without axillary nodal involvement at the time of mastectomy had significantly greater 5-year DFS and OS than patients with nodal involvement (51% vs. 14% and 70% vs. 34%, respectively, p < 0.05). DFS was also significantly better for patients receiving systemic therapy after local treatment (31% vs. 19%). On the multivariate analysis, absence of nodal involvement and systemic therapy were associated with longer DFS (p = 0.044 and p = 0.008, respectively) and OS (p = 0.009 and p = 0.011, respectively). None of the other factors analyzed including menopausal status, T-stage, number of involved nodes, receptor status, adjuvant therapy, sites of first recurrence, or time from mastectomy to first recurrence had a predictive value for DFS and OS.

CONCLUSION

Patients with stage IV-NED have poor prognosis due to early development of metastatic disease. Absence of axillary nodal involvement at the time of mastectomy and systemic therapy following local management is associated with improved DFS and OS. These results suggest that systemic therapy after local treatment in stage IV-NED is indicated. Poor prognosis in patients with previous nodal involvement warrants new approaches.

Sequential treatment including high-dose chemotherapy with peripheral blood stem cell support in patients with high-risk stage II-III breast cancer: outpatient administration in community cancer centers

The authors determined outcomes for patients with localized high-risk breast cancer undergoing sequential outpatient treatment with conventional-dose adjuvant therapy, chemotherapy, and growth factor mobilization of peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) and high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) with PBSC support in community cancer centers. Ninety-six patients with stage II-IIIB noninflammatory breast cancer with 10 or more positive lymph nodes and a median age of 46 years (range, 22-60 years) were treated with: 1) doxorubicin, 5-fluorouracil, and methotrexate (AFM), four courses at 2-week intervals; 2) cyclophosphamide (4 g/m2) and etoposide (600 mg/m2) (CE), followed by filgrastim (6 microg/kg per day) and PBSC harvest; and 3) cyclophosphamide (6 g/m2), thiotepa (500 mg/m2), and carboplatin (800 mg/m2) (CTCb), followed by PBSC infusion. All 96 patients received AFM, 95 (99%) received CE, and 95 (99%) received CTCb with a median hospital stay of 12 days (5-34 days) for all phases of treatment. Sixty-nine patients (72%) are alive, 55 (57%) without relapse at a median follow-up of 53 months (range, 37-77 months). One patient (1%) died of acute myeloid leukemia and all other deaths were associated with recurrent breast cancer. The probabilities of event-free survival (EFS) at 4 years for patients with or without locally advanced disease were 0.37 and 0.69, respectively (p = 0.004), and 0.71 and 0.48 for patients who were estrogen/progesterone receptor (ER/PR) positive or ER/PR negative, respectively (p = 0.016). In multivariate analyses, locally advanced disease (relative risk, 2.3; p = 0.021) and ER/PR-negative hormone receptor status (relative risk, 2.2; p = 0.014) were the only adverse risk factors for EFS identified. Patients with zero, one, or two of these adverse risk factors had 4-year EFS of 0.80, 0.56, and 0.33, respectively. The sequential administration of AFM, CE, and CTCb followed by PBSC in an outpatient community setting was well tolerated in patients with high-risk stage II-III breast cancer. More intensive or more novel treatment strategies will be required to decrease relapses in patients who have ER/PR-negative tumors and/or have locally advanced disease.

A randomized trial of mobilization of peripheral blood stem cells with cyclophosphamide, etoposide, and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor with or without cisplatin in patients with malignant lymphoma receiving high-dose chemotherapy

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the addition of cisplatin to cyclophosphamide, etoposide, and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) for the mobilization of peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC). Eighty-one patients with malignant lymphoma were randomized to receive either cyclophosphamide 4 g/m2 and etoposide 600 mg/m2 (CE), and G-CSF 6 microg/kg/day (n = 41), or the same drugs with cisplatin 105 mg/m2 (CEP; n = 40) followed by collection of PBSC. Seventy-eight of 81 patients (96%) had apheresis performed and 70 (86%) received high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) with PBSC support. The median number of CD34+ cells collected after CE was 19.77 compared with 9.39 x 10(6)/kg after CEP (p = 0.09). More patients receiving CEP had grade 3-4 gastrointestinal (p = 0.03) and neurologic toxicities (p = 0.05), had significant delays in recovery of neutrophils (p = 0.0001) and platelets (p = 0.009), and received more red blood cell (p = 0.03) and platelet (p = 0.08) transfusions than patients receiving CE. There were no significant differences in treatment-related deaths, relapse, survival, or event-free survival between patients receiving CE or CEP when all 81 patients or the 70 patients receiving HDC were evaluated. It was concluded that the addition of cisplatin to CE did not improve CD34+ cell yields, was associated with more morbidity and resource utilization, and was not associated with improvement in outcomes.

High-dose therapy with peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) support using an innovative mobilization regimen in patients with high-risk primary or chemoresponsive metastatic breast cancers

High-dose therapy followed by peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) support was performed in 29 patients with primary high-risk (Group I) or chemoresponsive metastatic (Group II) breast cancer patients. Group I patients had received PBSC mobilization within 4 weeks of modified radical mastectomy. Group II patients had to achieve minimal residual disease (MRD) by induction chemotherapy before being considered eligible for PBSC mobilization and high-dose therapy. An innovative FE120C regimen (5-FU 600 mg/m2, i.v., day 1; epirubicin 120 mg/m2, i.v., day 1; cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m2, i.v., day 1) plus G-CSF (300 microg/day, subcutaneous injection for 9 days, from day 4 post-FE120C) was used to mobilize PBSCs. After high-dose CTCb (cyclophosphamide 6,000 mg/m2, thiothepa 500 mg/m2, carboplatin 800 mg/m2, in 4 days), patients received PBSC infusion and daily C-CSF 300 microg subcutaneous injection. There were 19 and 16 patients enrolled into Group I and Group II, respectively. Ten of the Group II patients had achieved minimal residual disease (MRD) after induction chemotherapy. The median numbers of mobilized total CD34 + cells for Group I and Group II patients were 27.3 (9.2 to 114.1) x 10(6)/kg and 17.1 (5.9 to 69.1) x 10(6)/kg respectively. The median time to neutrophil recovery (ANC > or = 500/microL) was 8 and 9 days in Group I and II, respectively. The median time to platelet recovery (> or = 50,000/microL) was 10 and 15 days in Group I and II, respectively. No major treatment-related toxicities were noted. In Group I, 13 out of 19 patients (68.4%; 43-87%, 95% C.I.) remained recurrence-free with a median follow-up of 31 months (6 + to 55 + months). In Group II, 3 out of 10 patients (30%; 7-65%, 95% C.I.) remained progression-free at 33 +, 35 +, 39 + months from induction therapy. We suggest that the FE120C plus G-CSF is an effective and innovative regimen for PBSC mobilization in breast cancer patients, and high-dose CTCb therapy with PBSC support is a safe and well-tolerated treatment modality.

Second attempts at mobilization of peripheral blood stem cells in patients with initial low CD34+ cell yields

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of second mobilization strategies in patients who yielded < 2.5 x 10(6) CD34+ PBSC/kg after initial mobilization. Repeat mobilization attempts were made with chemotherapy and G-CSF (n = 61) or G-CSF alone (n = 58) in patients who failed initial mobilization with chemotherapy and G-CSF (n = 92) or G-CSF alone (n = 27). A median of 0.27 x 10(6) CD34+ cells/kg per apheresis was collected after the second mobilization, compared with 0.16 with initial harvests (p = 0.0001). Forty-eight percent achieved a target CD34+ cell dose > or = 2.5 x 10(6)/kg when harvests from the first and second mobilizations were combined. Fifteen of 17 patients (88%) with > or = 1.5 x 10(6) CD34+ cells/kg harvested after first mobilization had > or = 2.5 x 10(6) CD34+ cells/kg collected when first and second harvests were combined, as compared with 42 of 102 (41%) achieving < 1.5 x 10(6) CD34+ cells/kg with first PBSC harvests (p = 0.0001). Second mobilizations with chemotherapy and G-CSF or G-CSF alone resulted in similar CD34+ cell yields. Toxicities of second mobilizations were comparable with those of first mobilizations. Seventy-nine patients (66%) received high-dose chemotherapy with PBSC support, with recovery of neutrophils and platelets in a median of 11 and 15 days, respectively. Transplant-related mortality was 4%, and event-free survival at 2 years was 0.34. It was concluded that second mobilization attempts in patients who fail to achieve > or = 2.5 x 10(6) CD34+ cells/kg on initial mobilization were successful in 48% of patients. G-CSF alone was as effective as chemotherapy plus G-CSF in mobilizing CD34+ cells and was associated with less morbidity.

High-dose chemotherapy and autologous bone marrow or stem cell reconstitution for solid tumors

High-dose chemotherapy--in conjunction with the transplantation of either mononuclear cells harvested from the marrow or CD 34+ cells harvested from the peripheral blood--has proved effective in curing certain patients with leukemia, lymphoma, and, to a lesser extent, multiple myeloma. Though the CD 34+ therapy is a relatively new treatment and the mononuclear cell therapy is more standard, both have been successfully used to reconstitute lethally damaged hematopoietic stem cells. Allogeneic transplants have been more effective than autologous transplants against tumors, but they also pose a greater hazard of death from complications, graft-versus-host disease, and infections. More currently, this approach has been used in patients with certain solid tumors, either in a metastatic or recurrent disease setting or as an adjuvant to surgery and/or standard doses of chemotherapy in patients with a known high risk of recurrence. Unfortunately, the majority of the studies about the impact of this therapy have been small and nonrandomized against standard therapy, and they have encompassed diverse populations of patients. This makes comparisons with contemporary standard--dose approaches--already problematic from a statistical point of view--even more dangerous because of the dissimilarity of the groups being compared. Particularly in the high-risk adjuvant setting, data suggest that those patients that meet the eligibility criteria for high-dose therapy and transplantation exhibit the prognostic factors for a positive outcome. When one compares these results with those of a more heterogeneous group of patients treated with conventional therapy, the conclusion might be drawn that high-dose therapy is superior to standard therapy, when a longer follow-up of the patients in the study will show this to be untrue. Thus there is a plea from clinicians and physicians conducting trials for prospective, randomized trials that would allow a fair comparison between high-dose therapy in combination with transplant procedures and a more conventional, standard chemotherapy, which is often less toxic and definitely less expensive. This article reviews the data for transplantation in four tumors: breast cancer, ovarian cancer, small-cell lung cancer, and germ cell testis cancer. There is such a small number of randomized trials that an attempt must be made to compare these small high-dose therapy studies with similar, though not identical, large studies of conventional therapy. This article attempts to make those comparisons, and several conclusions are drawn, which are detailed below. First, few data support the use of high-dose chemotherapy in any patient with recurrent and drug-resistant breast cancer or ovarian cancer. Similarly, few data support the use of high-dose approaches for patients with extensive small-cell lung cancer. For patients with metastatic breast cancer that has responded completely to conventional chemotherapy, no data suggest a survival advantage for the immediate consolidation of that response with high-dose chemotherapy. The only trial addressing this issue found that immediate transplantation led to a better disease-free survival rate, but overall survival, as compared with that of patients who received transplants at relapse, was not affected, and the study did not address the issue of the relative merits of conventional chemotherapy in either case. The only study of high-dose versus conventional chemotherapy was statistically underpowered, and it showed poorer-than-anticipated outcomes in the patients who received conventional therapy. Ongoing or recently completed trials will, it is hoped, address the many unanswered questions in this area. For patients with high-risk, non-metastatic breast cancer, no completed and analyzed phase III randomized studies address the relative merits of conventional versus high-dose therapy. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED)

A randomized trial of two doses of cyclophosphamide with etoposide and G-CSF for mobilization of peripheral blood stem cells in 318 patients with stage II-III breast cancer

The purpose of this study was to develop a less toxic outpatient chemotherapy regimen for mobilizing peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC). Three hundred eighteen patients with newly diagnosed stage II-III breast cancer who had received conventional dose adjuvant chemotherapy were randomized to receive intermediate-dose cyclophosphamide (2 g/m2), etoposide (600 mg/m2), and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) 6 micrograms/kg/day (ID-Cy, n = 162) or high-dose cyclophosphamide (4 g/m2) and the same doses of etoposide and G-CSF (HD-Cy, n = 156) followed by collection of PBSC. Three hundred seventeen of 318 patients had apheresis performed, and 315 received high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) followed by PBSC support. The median numbers of CD34+ cells collected in a median of two apheresis following ID-Cy and HD-Cy were 19.9 and 22.2 x 10(6)/kg, respectively (p = 0.04). The fractions of patients achieving CD34+ cell doses > or = 2.5 or > or = 5.0 x 10(6)/kg were not different between the two regimens. More patients receiving HD-Cy had grade 3-4 nausea (p = 0.001), vomiting (p = 0.03), and mucositis (p = 0.04). The fractions of patients having a neutrophil nadir < 0.5 x 10(9)/L following ID-Cy and HD-Cy were 0.83 and 0.95, respectively (p = < 0.001). The fractions of patients having a platelet nadir < 25 x 10(9)/L following ID-Cy and HD-Cy were 0.13 and 0.51, respectively (p = < 0.001). More patients in the HD-Cy group received platelet (p < 0.001) and red blood cell (p < 0.001) transfusions and were admitted to the hospital more frequently (p = 0.03) than patients receiving ID-Cy. Three hundred fifteen patients received HDC followed by infusion of PBSC. There were no significant differences in the incidence of transplant-related death or early survival between patients receiving ID-Cy or HD-Cy followed by HDC. It was concluded that a regimen of Cy 2 g/m2 with etoposide and G-CSF was effective for mobilization of PBSC with low morbidity and resource utilization in patients with limited prior chemotherapy exposure.