autologous blood and marrow transplantation - Blog Science ...

336 Chapter 6: Breast Cancer
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Stage IV Breast Cancer
CAT B Survival
20 40
Months From HD To FU
Median
Figure 4. Survival of category B metastatic breast cancer. On the horizontal axis, the time
from onset of high dose (HD) to last follow-up has been plotted. N, number of patients under
study; Med FU, median follow-up of patients who are alive; Med Survival, median survival.
more stem cells could be harvested from the peripheral blood and not only hastened
hematopoietic recovery, but also the recovery was complete in that white cell as well
as platelet counts normalized. These patients sustained maintenance chemotherapy
very well without major neutropenia or thrombocytopenia.
Key to preventing major progression in patients is follow-up with sensitive
detection methods such as the cytokeratin assay as well as serological tumor
markers. 5
With these methods, small numbers of tumor cells can be detected
without significant changes on CT scans, MRI or bone scans. The next step is to
investigate the role of herceptin in Her-2 neu positive patients in the maintenance
part of the program. Early results are promising but longer follow-up is necessary
to assess its definite role.
REFERENCES
1. Clark G, Sledge GW, Osborne CK, McGuire WL: Survival from first recurrence: Relative
importance of prognostic factors in 1,015 breast cancer patients. J Clin Oncol 5:55-61
1987.
2. Mick R, Begg CB, Antman K, Korzun AH, Frei E III: Diverse prognosis in metastatic