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364 Chapter 6: Breast Cancer<br />

MATERIALS AND METHODS<br />

Patients<br />

Peripheral <strong>blood</strong> <strong>and</strong> ABSC specimens were collected during the course of<br />

treatment of 57 patients with metastatic breast cancer enrolled into clinical trials<br />

using HDCT <strong>and</strong> ABSC <strong>transplantation</strong>. Patients were between 18 <strong>and</strong> 55 years of<br />

age <strong>and</strong> had either hormone receptor-negative tumours or had failed at least one<br />

hormone treatment regimen for MBC (patients with CNS involvement were<br />

excluded).<br />

All patients received treatment initially consisting of two cycles induction<br />

chemotherapy (ICT). This consisted of cyclophosphamide, 500 mg/m 2<br />

body<br />

surface area (BSA) intravenously; doxorubicin, 50 mg/m 2<br />

BSA intravenously, or<br />

epirubicin, 60 mg/m 2<br />

BSA intravenously; 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), 500 mg/m 2<br />

BSA<br />

intravenously. Patients without progressive disease after these two cycles<br />

continued on the study which included further ICT using dose-escalation of<br />

cyclophosphamide to 2000 mg/m 2<br />

BSA intravenously with the same doses of<br />

doxorubicin or epirubicin <strong>and</strong> 5-FU. CD34 +<br />

cells were mobilized with either<br />

rhGM-CSF or rhG-CSF at 5 or 10 pg/kg body weight starting 1 day after ICT.<br />

Apheresis (AP) was performed on average for 4 consecutive days (when WBC<br />

values increased to >2.5/nL) using a Fenwal CS 3000 Plus (Baxter Healthcare,<br />

Deerfield, IL) or COBE (COBE Laboratories, Lakewood, CO) <strong>blood</strong> cell separator.<br />

A total <strong>blood</strong> volume of 10 L per AP was processed at a flow rate of 60-70<br />

mL/min. AP collections were continued until a minimum of 2X10 6<br />

CD34 +<br />

cells/kg<br />

was obtained.<br />

High-dose chemotherapy consisted of cyclophosphamide (6 g/m 2<br />

BSA<br />

intravenously), mitoxantrone (70 mg/m 2<br />

BSA intravenously) <strong>and</strong> either carboplatin<br />

(800 mg/m 2<br />

BSA intravenously) or vinblastine (12 mg/m 2<br />

BSA intravenously),<br />

administered over 4 days. Three patients did not receive HDCT due to disease<br />

progression <strong>and</strong> were excluded in the analysis after ICT. Four patients received a<br />

second regimen of HDCT with cyclophosphamide <strong>and</strong> mitoxantrone <strong>and</strong><br />

carboplatin. One patient received a second HDCT with thiotepa (500 mg/m 2<br />

BSA<br />

intravenously) <strong>and</strong> cyclophosphamide (6 g/m 2<br />

BSA intravenously). CD34 +<br />

cells<br />

were reinfused from cryopreserved AP product containing >2X 10 6<br />

CD34 +<br />

/kg that<br />

were pooled <strong>and</strong> washed according to the method established by Gluck et al. 27<br />

HER-2 plasma levels<br />

HER-2 plasma levels were determined using the HER-2 serum EIA kit (Chiron<br />

Diagnostics, formerly Triton Diagnostics, Alameda, CA) according to the<br />

manufacturer's instructions. This kit uses a monoclonal antibody-based<br />

immunoenzymatic assay to quantitate the shed HER-2 fragment in plasma.

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