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236 Chapter 5: Myeloma<br />

Intensified high-dose chemotherapy regimens followed by <strong>autologous</strong><br />

hematopoietic stem cell <strong>transplantation</strong> resulted in a significant prolongation of<br />

overall survival <strong>and</strong> an increased number of patients achieving complete<br />

remissions. 12<br />

Peripheral <strong>blood</strong> stem cells mobilized with G-CSF <strong>and</strong> high-dose<br />

chemotherapy are increasingly used autotransplants. The influence of pretreatment<br />

regimens on lowering the collection efficacy of peripheral CD34 +<br />

stem cells has<br />

been demonstrated for several disease entities. 3<br />

' 5<br />

Tumor cells in leukapheresis<br />

products as a possible relapse source remain a further concern in the <strong>autologous</strong><br />

peripheral <strong>blood</strong> progenitor cell transplant (PBPCT). 6<br />

" 8<br />

CD34 +<br />

purging strategies<br />

have been established to reduce the numbers of reinfused tumor cells. 910<br />

The<br />

impact of the kind or the duration of pretreatment on the tumor cell load in<br />

apheresis products has not been described for MM. However, effect of previous<br />

treatment regimens on the number of circulating plasma cells in LP was shown by<br />

immunofluorescence analysis. 11<br />

We were particularly interested in evaluating the predictive value of<br />

pretreatment regimens on tumor cell numbers in leukaphereses collected on day 1<br />

calculated with a quantitative PCR assay based on a limiting dilution method.<br />

METHODS AND MATERIALS<br />

Patients<br />

The characteristics of the 30 patients enrolled into the study are shown in Table<br />

1. The diagnosis of MM was made by using st<strong>and</strong>ard criteria. 12<br />

All patients have<br />

been included in a phase II study evaluating the efficacy of high-dose<br />

chemotherapy <strong>and</strong> PBPCT. Informed consent was obtained from each patient.<br />

At the time of mobilization, four patients were in complete remission (CR), 21<br />

patients had achieved partial remission (PR), <strong>and</strong> five showed minimal response<br />

(MR) according to the EBMT criteria. 1<br />

All patients had received one or more<br />

cycles of conventional treatment. Pretreatment consisted of a median of five cycles.<br />

Of the 30 patients evaluated, four were pretreated with alkylating agents only,<br />

predominantly with melphalan, 11 had received VA[I]D (vincristine, doxorubicin,<br />

[idarubicin,] <strong>and</strong> dexamethasone), <strong>and</strong> 15 received both regimens.<br />

PBPC mobilization<br />

Patients were treated with high-dose cyclophosphamide (HD-CY) (7 g/m 2<br />

,<br />

«=20, or 4 g/m 2<br />

, n=5) (Asta Medica, Dresden, Germany) or, in cases of preexisting<br />

heart disease or amyloidosis, with ifosfamide/mitoxantrone (Ifo/Mito) (n=5, Ifo 4<br />

g/m 2<br />

days 1 <strong>and</strong> 2 [Asta Medica] <strong>and</strong> Mito 10 mg/m 2<br />

days 2 <strong>and</strong> 3 [Lederle,<br />

Münster, Germany]) plus G-CSF (Amgen-Roche, München, Germany). G-CSF

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