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

The use of high-dose cyclophosphamide, carmustine, and thiotepa plus autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation as consolidation therapy for high-risk primary breast cancer after primary surgery or neoadjuvant chemotherapy

We assessed the 5-year results of a high-dose cyclophosphamide, carmustine, and thiotepa (CBT) regimen plus autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHST) as an adjuvant consolidation therapy for high-risk primary breast cancer patients with > or =10 positive axillary lymph nodes after primary surgery or > or =4 positive axillary lymph nodes after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and surgery. The associations of various potential prognostic factors with the relapse-free survival (RFS) rate and overall survival (OS) rate were determined. Between October 1992 and March 2000, 177 eligible patients (median age, 46 years) were given high-dose CBT followed by AHST. At a median follow-up of 63 months, the acute treatment-related mortality was 4.5%. Estimated 5-year RFS and OS rates were 62% and 68%, respectively, for all patients. For patients with > or =10 positive axillary lymph nodes after primary surgery, the 5-year RFS and OS rates were 71% and 70%, respectively, and for patients with > or =4 positive axillary lymph nodes after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, the 5-year RFS and OS rates were 53% and 66%, respectively. In 2-sided log-rank tests, earlier disease stage, a lower lymph node ratio, and a lower tumor score were associated with a prolonged RFS and OS. In a multivariate proportional hazards model, disease stage and lymph node ratio remained significant. We concluded that high-dose CBT with AHST for high-risk primary breast cancer is feasible, with comparable efficacy to other phase II studies. More than a 50% estimated 5-year survival rate was seen in all high-risk primary breast cancer patients. In accordance with results from recent randomized studies, we need to continue high-dose chemotherapy with AHST for patients with high-risk primary breast cancer in the phase III randomized setting.

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.

The role of cancer vaccines following autologous stem cell rescue in breast and ovarian cancer patients: experience with the STn-KLH vaccine (Theratope)

The success of high-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem-cell rescue as treatment for breast and ovarian cancer is limited by a high incidence of relapse. After autologous transplantation, patients are likely to have a low tumor burden and thus would be more likely to respond immunologically to a cancer vaccine. Sialyl-Tn (STn) is a carbohydrate associated with the MUC1 mucin on breast and ovarian cancer and is an ideal candidate for vaccine immunotherapy. Sialyl-Tn-keyhole limpet hemocyanin (STn-KLH) vaccine (Theratope) incorporates a synthetic STn antigen that mimics the unique tumor-associated STn carbohydrate and is designed to stimulate tumor antigen-specific immune responses in patients with mucin-expressing tumors. Between 1995 and 2000, 70 patients (16 with stage II/III breast cancer, 17 with stage III/IV ovarian cancer, and 37 with stage IV breast cancer) were treated with 2 different formulations of STn-KLH. Toxicity, outcome, and immune response data are reported. STn-KLH was well-tolerated with minimal toxicity. The most common side effects were indurations and erythema at the sites of injections. Humoral and cellular responses were elicited in the majority of patients. Overall, these data indicate that post-autologous transplant patients are able to mount an effective immune response to vaccine immunotherapy with minimal side effects, and that vaccine immunotherapy may be a useful addition to high-dose chemotherapy regimens.

Autologous stem cell transplantation for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: comparison of radiation-based and chemotherapy-only preparative regimens

The aim of this study was to compare toxicity and efficacy of total body irradiation (TBI), cyclophosphamide (CY) and etoposide (E) (TBI/CY/E) vs busulfan, melphalan and thiotepa (Bu/Mel/T) in patients receiving autologous stem cell infusion (ASCI) for malignant lymphoma (NHL). Between September 1990 and July 1998, 351 patients with NHL were treated with TBI/CY/E (n = 221) or Bu/Mel/T (n = 130) followed by ASCI. Patients in first, or second remission, first responding or untreated relapse were defined as having less advanced disease before transplantation. The median follow-up was 5 years (range 1-9) and 3.5 years (1-6) for patients receiving TBI/CY/E and Bu/Mel/T, respectively. The cumulative probabilities of survival, event-free survival (EFS) and relapse at 5 years were 44%, 32%, 49% following TBI/CY/E and 42%, 34% and 42% following Bu/Mel/T. The probability of EFS at 5 years for patients who had prior dose-limiting radiation (n = 59) was 32% after Bu/Mel/T therapy. Transplant-related mortality was 16% for TBI/CY/E and 21% for Bu/Mel/T. In univariate and multivariate analyses, more advanced disease status was associated with poor outcome (TBI/CY/E: RR 0.70, CI 0.50 to 0.97 P = 0.04; Bu/Mel/T: RR 0.61, CI 0.39 to 0.97 P = 0.03). No significant differences in toxicities and outcomes were observed between these two regimens despite the inclusion of patients who had received dose-limiting irradiation in the Bu/Mel/T regimen.