melphalan and Digestive-System-Diseases

Intensive therapy and autologous marrow or peripheral blood stem cell transplantation is often utilized in Hodgkin's disease patients whose disease has progressed after primary conventional chemotherapy. A number of studies have described long-term disease-free survival in up to 50% of transplanted patients. High-dose chemotherapy conditioning regimens such as "CBV" or "BEAM" have been used more often than regimens containing total body irradiation. Usually unpurged autologous bone marrow has been utilized as the source of hematopoietic stem cell reconstitution, although recently the use of "primed" peripheral blood stem cells has increased markedly. The challenges of transplant-related toxicity and recurrence of disease post-transplant are discussed, as well as possible strategies to reduce these problems. The use of autologous transplantation is discussed in three clinical settings: patients who have failed to enter a complete remission (CR) after primary chemotherapy, those who have relapsed within 12 months of attaining a CR and those who have relapsed after a longer (i.e., > or = 12 months) first CR. When compared with conventional salvage chemotherapy, transplantation appears to produce a higher long-term disease-free survival rate in all of these patient groups. However, assessment of an advantage for autotransplantation, particularly in patients with long first remissions, is difficult without a Phase III trial. On the other hand, recently updated results from our center indicate that 72% of patients relapsing after long initial remissions benefit from autotransplantation at this point in their disease course, and that transplant-related mortality is low in this setting. Other issues addressed include the potential role of autologous transplantation as consolidation therapy in selected high-risk patients in an initial CR, as well as the utility of conventional chemotherapy and involved-field radiotherapy in conjunction with autotransplantation.

Topics: Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Bone Marrow Diseases; Bone Marrow Transplantation; Carmustine; Clinical Trials as Topic; Combined Modality Therapy; Cyclophosphamide; Cytarabine; Digestive System Diseases; Etoposide; Heart Diseases; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; Hodgkin Disease; Humans; Lung Diseases; Melphalan; Multicenter Studies as Topic; Podophyllotoxin; Recurrence; Remission Induction; Salvage Therapy; Survival Rate; Treatment Outcome; Whole-Body Irradiation

Between January 1993 and December 1996, 21 children with advanced solid tumors were entered in a dose-escalating study of high-dose sequential chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation. The diagnoses included neuroblastoma (NB) for 13 patients; Ewing's sarcoma (ES) for six patients and osteosarcoma for two patients. Nine patients received therapy as consolidation for primary metastatic disease, and 12 patients had had previous relapses. Treatment consisted of CY given i.v. at a dose of 7 g/m2 on day 1, followed by G-CSF until myeloid recovery. After 3 weeks of rest, all patients were given thiotepa i.v. on days 22-24. The total dose of thiotepa was 450 mg/m2 in three patients, 600 mg/m2 in six patients, and 750 mg/m2 in 12 patients. Melphalan was given i.v. at a dose of 180 mg/m2 i.v. on day 27 followed by stem cell infusion on day 28. Major toxic reactions included stomatitis, esophagitis, diarrhea and dermatitis. Three patients died of treatment-related complications. Twelve patients have had a relapse. Six patients (five with NB and one with ES) are alive in continuous remission 5-50 months (median 36) after transplantation. The results of this study show that it is feasible to administer high-dose sequential chemotherapy to children with advanced solid tumors.

Topics: Adolescent; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Bone Neoplasms; Child; Child, Preschool; Combined Modality Therapy; Cyclophosphamide; Digestive System Diseases; Drug Administration Schedule; Female; Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Mobilization; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; Humans; Infant; Male; Melphalan; Neoplasms; Neuroblastoma; Osteosarcoma; Remission Induction; Salvage Therapy; Sarcoma, Ewing; Survival Analysis; Thiotepa; Treatment Outcome