Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Request Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Chen, T.-Y.
Right arrow Articles by Tsao, C.-J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Chen, T.-Y.
Right arrow Articles by Tsao, C.-J.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology 33:331-335 (2003)
© 2003 Foundation for Promotion of Cancer Research

High-dose Chemotherapy and Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Patients with Nasopharyngeal Cancer: a Feasibility Study

Tsai-Yun Chen1, Helen H. W. Chen2, Wu-Chou Su1 and Chao-Jung Tsao1,+

1 Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine and 2 Department of Radiotherapy, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan

Background: Nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) is a highly chemosensitive malignancy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy of high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) in combination with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in patients with locally advanced or metastatic NPC.

Methods: Nine patients with locally advanced or metastatic NPC were recruited after three to four courses of cisplatin-based chemotherapy followed by a single course of cyclophosphamide 1600 mg/m2 day 1–4, carboplatin 400 mg/m2 day 1–3, and thiotepa 120 mg/m2 day 1–4 or melphalan 120 mg/m2 day 5. Chemoirradiation was administered after HDCT only if the patient had never received radiotherapy or had residual cervical nodes.

Results: A median of 8.32 x 106 CD34+ cells/kg was collected. Two patients were rendered disease-free before HDCT, one by massectomy and one by cisplatin-based chemotherapy. All patients recovered rapidly after peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT). Among seven assessable patients, response to HDCT was observed in four patients. Only one patient achieved complete response after HDCT. The median time to failure and median survival after HDCT was eight and 18 months, respectively. One patient died of pulmonary hemorrhage two months after transplantation. No long-term disease-free survival was noted.

Conclusion: HDCT with autologous PBSCT is feasible with an acceptable toxicity, and can convert partial remission into complete remission. While no long-term disease-free survival was observed in this study, further investigations are needed to establish the role of HDCT in the treatment of NPC.

+ For reprints and all correspondence: Tsai-Yun Chen, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, 138 Sheng-Li Road, Tainan 704, Taiwan. E-mail: teresa{at}mail.ncku.edu.tw


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.