  
          |
Don’t Write Off Stem Cell Transplants for Breast Cancer, Says NCI Chief High-dose chemotherapy with bone marrow transplant may still prove to be a viable option for some breast cancer patients and needs to be tested in ongoing clinical trials, according to National Cancer Institute (NCI) Director, Richard Klausner MD. In an open letter to members of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), Klausner urged them not to dismiss bone marrow transplant clinical trials as an option for their breast cancer patients. He said that although preliminary results from some transplant trials have been disappointing, they cannot be generalized to all patients and, contrary to the impression created by some reports, they have not resolved the questions about transplantation. “The largest NCI-sponsored trial is still open but is in dire need of your support,” wrote Klausner. The trial, designated S9623, is testing high-dose chemotherapy with transplant in patients with less advanced disease than those in earlier trials. “Importantly, this trial tests the question in a different subset of patients … and accordingly, the preliminary results of earlier trials may not be applicable to this subset,” said Klausner. S9623 is open to breast cancer patients who have four or more lymph nodes positive for cancer and who are at high risk of recurrence. Women are randomized to one of two high-dose regimens—high-dose chemotherapy with transplant or high-dose chemotherapy with growth factors to stimulate white blood cell production.” For more information, visit the NCI Website http://cancernet.nci.nih.gov or phone BMT InfoNet at 847-433-3313. |
||
|
|||
