title: High-dose chemotherapy with autologous bone marrow support as consolidation after standard-dose adjuvant therapy in primary breast cancer patients with seven or more involved axillary lymph nodes.
abstract: Despite adjuvant chemotherapy the prognosis of patients with breast cancer and a high number of involved axillary lymph nodes is very poor. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of high-dose chemotherapy with autologous bone marrow support in patients with seven or more involved axillary lymph nodes. Nineteen patients underwent four courses of standard adjuvant chemotherapy, followed by high-dose busulphan/cyclophosphamide chemotherapy with autologous bone marrow support. The median age was 41.4 years and the median number of involved lymph nodes 11. Mucositis WHO grade > or = 3 was observed in 15 patients and 18 patients suffered febrile neutropenia. Transplant-related mortality was encountered in two patients, due to hepatic veno-occlusive disease and sepsis complicated by multi-organ failure, respectively. After a median follow-up period of 1490 days (range 582-2024 days) from diagnosis, nine patients have relapsed and the overall event-free survival (EFS) is 42% (95% CI 19-65%). The median EFS is 487 days. High-dose treatment with BuCy2 in high-risk breast cancer patients is a toxic regimen and does not seem to improve disease-free survival.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: R I
authors.initials: RI
authors.lastname: Lalisang
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Hupperets
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: ten Haaft
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Jansen
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Schouten
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018906:Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001365:Axilla; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D002066:Busulfan / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis
chemical_list: D018906:Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating; D003520:Cyclophosphamide; D002066:Busulfan