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Prince et al. 327<br />

eight patients had high apheresis yields (perhaps reflecting a good <strong>marrow</strong><br />

microenvironment) but because of the relatively low CD34 +<br />

cell recovery after the<br />

selection process (29%), the actual infused number of cells per cycle was low<br />

(mean 1.27X10 6<br />

/kg). Despite the low CD34 +<br />

cells infused in these patients, they<br />

engrafted well, with only slightly delayed hematopoietic recovery compared with<br />

the recovery of patients who received unselected cells. These findings are of<br />

considerable importance for the design of subsequent trials of repetitive high-dose<br />

therapy, <strong>and</strong> further studies are required to resolve some of the issues raised.<br />

Response rates <strong>and</strong> survival<br />

The response rates in this study were high given the poor prognostic character­<br />

istics of this cohort. Indeed, responses were observed in chemotherapy-resistant<br />

patients, with only one patient having progressive disease during treatment. At a<br />

median follow up of only 8 months, the median survival has not been reached, with<br />

a median progression-free survival of 11.3 months.<br />

CONCLUSION<br />

We conclude that repeated cycles of high-dose therapy can be delivered in the<br />

majority of patients <strong>and</strong> achieve promising response rates. These studies provide<br />

important information relating to hematopoietic recovery after repetitive high-<br />

dose therapy <strong>and</strong> have implications for the design of subsequent repetitive high-<br />

dose studies.<br />

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS<br />

The authors wish to thank Asta Medica (Sydney, Australia) <strong>and</strong> F.H. Faulding<br />

(Adelaide, Australia) for their generous support of this study <strong>and</strong> the research nurses,<br />

apheresis nurses, <strong>and</strong> nursing staff on the Hematology <strong>and</strong> Day Wards at Peter<br />

MacCallum Cancer Institute for commitment, dedication, <strong>and</strong> expert patient care.<br />

REFERENCES<br />

1. Hryniuk W, Bush H: The importance of dose intensity in chemotherapy of metastatic<br />

breast cancer. J Clin Oncol 2:1281-1288, 1984.<br />

2. Siu LL, Tannock IF: Chemotherapy dose escalation: Case unproven. / Clin Oncol<br />

15:2765-2768,1997.<br />

3. Savarese DMF, Hsieh C, Stewart FM: Clinical impact of chemotherapy dose escalation<br />

in patients with haematological malignancies <strong>and</strong> solid tumors. J Clin Oncol<br />

15:2981-2995, 1997.

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