In the past clinical trials and studies showed that high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplant could improve survival for those diagnosed with advanced stage breast cancer. The hopefulness of this procedure curing women has gone off to the sidelines. These days doctors will only perform high-dose chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant under a clinical trial.
Researchers from Spain and Johns Hopkins University conducted a study that showed there are some breast cancer patients that could benefit from high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplant. The study included 84 breast cancer patients with 10 or more positive nodes. These patients were followed for over five years after receiving high-dose chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant.
They wanted to evaluate the significance of cancer cells detected in circulating (peripheral) blood (PB). The study showed in that timeframe that those patients that had detected PB cancer cells had a three hundred percent increase in death over those without PB cancer cells.
If they could isolate a group of patients that do benefit from high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplant then maybe the treatment can come back into mainstream use and save some lives.
