Acute and late toxicity following adjuvant high-dose chemotherapy for high-risk primary operable breast cancer--a quality assessment study

From 1996 to 2000, high-dose chemotherapy with haematopoietic stem-cell support was used as an adjuvant treatment strategy for management of primary high-risk breast cancer patients with more than five positive nodes. This single institution study included 52 women aged < or = 56 years with primary operable breast cancer and > or = 6 tumour-positive axillary lymph nodes. The treatment regimen consisted of at least three initial courses of FEC (5-fluorouracil, epirubicin, cyclophosphamide) followed by high-dose chemotherapy (cyclophosphamide, thiotepa, carboplatin) supported by autologous peripheral blood stem-cell reinfusion. This study focuses on quality control including evaluation of toxicity, supportive therapy and assessment of the stem-cell products. Cytokeratin 19 positive cells were found in the stem-cell product from 3/37 patients. Data regarding organ toxicity were used for evaluation of short- and long-term side effects. Substantial acute toxicity and frequent catheter-related infections were found. Long-term toxicities included reduced lung diffusion capacity (n = 36), fatigue (n = 14), arthralgia/myalgia (n = 10), neurotoxicity (n = 9) and memory loss (n = 4). However, most toxicities were grade 1-2 and reversible within two years. No treatment-related death occurred. Within a median follow-up of 30 months (range, 11-57), 25% of the patients had relapsed. Recurrence-free survival was 75% and overall survival was 88% three years after the start of treatment. Overall, high-dose chemotherapy was relatively well tolerated, with manageable toxicity and an acceptable requirement of supportive therapy. Until now, high-dose chemotherapy has not proven superior to conventional-dose adjuvant chemotherapy, therefore it is necessary in the future to focus on well-designed randomized studies.