Preview Of Five Studies To Be Presented At Asco In May, 1999

ASCO: The role of high-dose chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant or peripheral stem-cell support in the treatment of breast cancer [04/16/99; American Society of Clinical Oncology]

The role of high-dose chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant or peripheral stem-cell support in the treatment of breast cancer. Background and Preliminary Results of Five Studies to Be Presented at ASCO's Annual Meeting May 15-18, in Atlanta, GA

Because of the significant public interest in the role of high-dose chemotherapy and transplant in the treatment of breast cancer, ASCO is providing this background information and perspective to assist physicians and patients in interpreting the available data.

INTRODUCTION:

The May 17th Plenary Session of ASCO's 35th Annual Meeting (May 15-18, 1999) features the results of four phase III trials comparing high-dose chemotherapy and autologous bone marrow transplant or stem cell support to chemotherapy at more standard doses in the treatment of breast cancer. An additional abstract on the procedure will be part of a general poster session. The information posted on this site represents preliminary data that have not yet been fully analyzed and are yet to be reviewed and discussed in the scientific community. However, because of the important nature of the research, ASCO and the investigators have worked to make information about these studies available to the public before the Annual Meeting.

The investigators will continue to review and analyze their data, and the full presentations at the ASCO meeting will be the first time the data will be presented for discussion. The studies will then be further analyzed for peer review and publication in the scientific literature. It should be stressed that follow-up is not complete and, no doubt, these studies will be the subject of future reports.

Two of the five studies discussed here examine the use of high-dose chemotherapy in metastatic breast cancer, and three investigate its role in the treatment of very high-risk primary breast cancer – that is, breast cancer that has spread to 10 or more axillary lymph nodes. Taken together, these studies are among the largest randomized, phase III trials to report results on this critical issue.