title: [High dose chemotherapy in treatment of breast carcinoma: current status and limits of this method of therapy].
abstract: Current Status and Limits: High-dose chemotherapy with autologous haematopoietic stem cell rescue has become in recent years a widely accepted therapeutic modality for advanced stage breast cancer in North America. The emergence of modern supportive measures like peripheral blood stem cell rescue has significantly decreased the toxicity and cost of high-dose chemotherapy. The rationale for use of escalated chemotherapy doses in breast cancer is the establishment of a dose-response relationship, with higher doses producing increased response rates in preclinical studies as well as in clinical trials. The dose limiting myelotoxicity of several active agents in breast cancer can only be overcome by rescue with previously cryopreserved autologous haematopoietic stem cells. Two phase II clinical trials with high-dose chemotherapy as adjuvant measure in high-risk breast cancer patients with multiple positive axillary nodes have been published so far. Disease-free survival is these 2 studies was 71 and 84% after 5 and 3 years of follow-up, and hence significantly longer compared to historic controls. Randomised phase III trials are urgently needed to confirm these promising results. Several reports of high-dose chemotherapy in disseminated breast cancer have been published so far. Most of these studies could establish a high response rate of about 70%, half of which were complete responses. However, most tumour regressions were short lived and overall survival was not prolonged compared with historic controls. Therefore, high-dose chemotherapy cannot be recommended for disseminated breast cancer patients outside of innovative clinical trials. To improve on the results in disseminated breast cancer patients the use of repeated cycles of high dose chemotherapy or the value of tumour cell purging of the stem cell product are being currently explored by different groups. In general, breast cancer patients should only be treated with high dose chemotherapy in context with a clinical trial.
authors.affiliation: Abteilung für Hämatologie, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz.
authors.forename: H G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Derigs
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Huber
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mahlke
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kolbe
mesh_terms: D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D017322:Clinical Trials, Phase II as Topic; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D016896:Treatment Outcome
vernacular_title: Die Hochdosischemotherapie in der Behandlung des Mammakarzinoms: Gegenwärtiger Stand und Grenzen der Therapiemethode.