Bone marrow transplantation in pediatric patients with therapy-related myelodysplasia and leukemia. (1/594)

Eleven children underwent BMT for therapy-related MDS or leukemia, four from HLA-identical siblings and seven from unrelated donors. Ten of the 11 were conditioned with busulfan and cyclophosphamide as the majority had received prior irradiation to the chest and/or abdomen. All patients engrafted. Regimen-related toxicity was more common when compared to historical controls. Eight patients developed acute GVHD and four of eight who survived 100 days post transplant developed extensive chronic GVHD. Non-relapse related mortality occurred in three patients. Five patients developed recurrent malignancy: one died from recurrence of osteosarcoma, three died of recurrent leukemia or MDS and another developed two subsequent malignancies (duodenal carcinoma and anaplastic astrocytoma). Three survive disease-free at 14+, 22+ and 43+ months for a 2 year actuarial cancer-free survival of 24% (95% confidence interval = 5-53%). Although allogeneic BMT can be curative, regimen-related toxicity is frequent and recurrent malignancy remains the major obstacle.  (+info)

High dose chemotherapy with busulfan, cyclophosphamide, and etoposide as conditioning regimen for allogeneic bone marrow transplantation for patients with acute myeloid leukemia in first complete remission. (2/594)

We explored the combination of busulfan/cyclophosphamide/etoposide as conditioning regimen prior to bone marrow transplantation in 31 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in first complete remission. The preparative regimen consisted of 16 mg/kg busulfan, 30-60 mg/kg VP-16, and 120 mg/kg cyclophosphamide. With a median follow-up of 30.5 months (range, 5-60 months), 25 patients are alive in continuous complete remission. Estimated disease-free survival at 5 years is 80.5%. Death was due to transplant-related toxicity (graft-versus-host disease and cytomegalovirus infection, graft-versus-host disease and pneumonia, sepsis and mucositis, respectively). None of the patients have relapsed. As demonstrated by the results of this analysis, the conditioning regimen busulfan/cyclophosphamide/etoposide is effective and well tolerated in patients with AML in first complete remission. Main nonhematological toxicities were mucositis and hepatotoxicity. The low mortality and relapse rate appears to justify allogeneic bone marrow transplantation for patients with AML in first complete remission who have an HLA-identical donor. Whether this regimen offers a substantial improvement in disease-free and overall survival over presently used regimens warrants further investigation.  (+info)

Busulphan is active against neuroblastoma and medulloblastoma xenografts in athymic mice at clinically achievable plasma drug concentrations. (3/594)

High-dose busulphan-containing chemotherapy regimens have shown high response rates in children with relapsed or refractory neuroblastoma, Ewing's sarcoma and medulloblastoma. However, the anti-tumour activity of busulfan as a single agent remains to be defined, and this was evaluated in athymic mice bearing advanced stage subcutaneous paediatric solid tumour xenografts. Because busulphan is highly insoluble in water, the use of several vehicles for enteral and parenteral administration was first investigated in terms of pharmacokinetics and toxicity. The highest bioavailability was obtained with busulphan in DMSO administered i.p. When busulphan was suspended in carboxymethylcellulose and given orally or i.p., the bioavailability was poor. Then, in the therapeutic experiments, busulphan in DMSO was administered i.p. on days 0 and 4. At the maximum tolerated total dose (50 mg kg(-1)), busulphan induced a significant tumour growth delay, ranging from 12 to 34 days in the three neuroblastomas evaluated and in one out of three medulloblastomas. At a dose level above the maximum tolerated dose, busulphan induced complete and partial tumour regressions. Busulphan was inactive in a peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumour (PNET) xenograft. When busulphan pharmacokinetics in mice and humans were considered, the estimated systemic exposure at the therapeutically active dose in mice (113 microg h ml(-1)) was close to the mean total systemic exposure in children receiving high-dose busulphan (102.4 microg h ml(-1)). In conclusion, busulphan displayed a significant anti-tumour activity in neuroblastoma and medulloblastoma xenografts at plasma drug concentrations which can be achieved clinically in children receiving high-dose busulphan-containing regimens.  (+info)

Autologous transplantation of chemotherapy-purged PBSC collections from high-risk leukemia patients: a pilot study. (4/594)

We have recently demonstrated that the combination of the alkylating agent nitrogen mustard (NM) and etoposide (VP-16) is capable of eliminating, ex vivo, leukemic cells contaminating PBSC collections and this is associated with a significant recovery of primitive and committed hematopoietic progenitor cells. Based on these data a pilot study on autologous transplantation of NM/VP-16 purged PBSC for high-risk leukemic patients was recently initiated. Twelve patients (seven females and five males) with a median age of 46 years (range 18-57) have been treated. Two patients had acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) resistant to conventional induction treatment, four patients had secondary AML in I complete remission (CR), one patient was in II CR after failing a previous autologous BM transplantation, while two additional AML individuals were in I CR achieved after three or more cycles of induction treatment. Two patients with high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in I CR and one patient with mantle cell lymphoma and leukemic dissemination were also included. Eight patients showed karyotypic abnormalities associated with a poor clinical outcome. The mobilizing regimens included cytosine arabinoside and mitoxantrone with (n = 6) or without fludarabine (n = 3) followed by subcutaneous administration of G-CSF (5 microg/kg/day until the completion of PBSC collection) and G-CSF alone (n = 3) (15 microg/kg/day). A median of two aphereses (range 1-3) allowed the collection of 7.2 x 10(8) TNC/kg (range 3.4-11.5), 5 x 10(6) CD34+ cells/kg (range 2.1-15.3) and 9.2 x 10(4) CFU-GM/kg (0.3-236). PBSC were treated with a constant dose of 20 microg of VP-16/ml and a median individual-adjusted dose (survival < or = 5% of steady-state BM CFU-GM) of NM of 0.7 microg/ml (range 0.25-1.25). Eleven patients were reinfused after busulfan (16 mg/kg) and Cy (120 mg/kg) conditioning with a median residual dose of 0.3 x 10(4) CFU-GM/kg (0-11.5). The median time to neutrophil engraftment (>0.5 x 10(9)/l) for evaluable patients was 25 days (range 12-59); the median time to platelet transfusion independence (>20 and >50 x 10(9)/l) was 40 days (18-95) and 69 days (29-235), respectively. Hospital discharge occurred at a median of 25 days (18-58) after stem cell reinfusion. Four individuals are alive in CR (n = 3) or with residual nodal disease (n = 1 lymphoma patient) with a follow-up of 32, 26, 3 and 14 months, respectively. Seven patients died due to disease progression or relapse (n = 5) or extrahematological transplant toxicity (n = 2). Our data suggest that pharmacological purging of leukapheresis collections of leukemic patients at high-risk of relapse is feasible and ex vivo treated cells reconstitute autologous hematopoiesis.  (+info)

Correction of bone marrow failure in dyskeratosis congenita by bone marrow transplantation. (5/594)

Dyskeratosis congenita is recognized by its dermal lesions and constitutional aplastic anemia in some cases. We report successful allogeneic bone marrow transplantation in two siblings with this disease from their sister, and their long term follow-up. We used reduced doses of cyclophosphamide and busulfan for conditioning instead of total body irradiation. Also, we report late adverse effects of transplantation which are not distinguishable from the natural course of disease.  (+info)

Increased risk of chronic graft-versus-host disease, obstructive bronchiolitis, and alopecia with busulfan versus total body irradiation: long-term results of a randomized trial in allogeneic marrow recipients with leukemia. Nordic Bone Marrow Transplantation Group. (6/594)

Leukemic patients receiving marrow from HLA-identical sibling donors were randomized to treatment with either busulfan 16 mg/kg (n = 88) or total body irradiation ([TBI] n = 79) in addition to cyclophosphamide 120 mg/kg. The patients were observed for a period of 5 to 9 years. Busulfan-treated patients had an increased risk of veno-occlusive disease (VOD) of the liver (12% v 1%, P =.01) and hemorrhagic cystitis (32% v 10%, P =.003). Acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) was similar in the two groups, but the 7-year cumulative incidence of chronic GVHD was 59% in the busulfan-treated group versus 47% in the TBI group (P =.05). Death from GVHD was more common in the busulfan group (22% v 3%, P <.001). Obstructive bronchiolitis occurred in 26% of the busulfan patients but in only 5% of the TBI patients (P <.01). Complete alopecia developed in 8 busulfan patients and partial alopecia in 17, versus five with partial alopecia in the TBI group (P <.001). Cataracts occurred in 5 busulfan-treated patients and 16 TBI patients (P =.02). The incidence of relapse after 7 years was 29% in both groups. Seven-year transplant-related mortality (TRM) in patients with early disease was 21% in the busulfan group and 12% in the TBI group. In patients with more advanced disease, the corresponding figures were 64% and 22%, respectively (P =.004). Leukemia-free survival (LFS) in patients with early disease was 68% in busulfan-treated patients and 66% in TBI patients. However, 7-year LFS in patients with more advanced disease was 17% in the busulfan group versus 49% in the TBI group (P <.01). In patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in first chronic phase, 7-year LFS was 72% and 83% in the two groups, respectively.  (+info)

Busulphan level and early mortality in thalassaemia patients after BMT. (7/594)

The aim of the study was to correlate busulphan (BU) levels of thalassaemia patients with outcome of allogeneic transplant. BU levels were measured by gas chromatography mass fragmentography. All patients received a standardised dose of BU 16 mg/kg, and cyclophosphamide 150 or 200 mg/kg. For area-under-the-curve analysis (AUC), blood samples were obtained at 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 h after the first and fifth dose for all patients, and additional levels were measured after ninth and/or 13th dose in most patients. Outcome parameters examined included veno-occlusive disease of liver (VOD), idiopathic interstitial pneumonitis, chimerism, and day 90 survival. Twenty consecutive thalassaemia patients who underwent haematopoietic stem cell transplantation were studied. The median age at transplant was 11.2 years (range 3-21 years). Mean BU AUC levels were correlated with age at transplant (r = 0.58, P = 0.007). Nine patients developed VOD and six had mixed chimerism, but these did not correlate with mean BU AUC level. Four patients died before day 50 from VOD and interstitial pneumonitis. Patients with BU AUC levels greater than the median (908 micromol x min/l) had significantly lower probability of survival at day 90 (60%), whereas patients with BU AUC level less than the median all survived beyond day 90. No patient had graft rejection. In conclusion, a high BU AUC level was associated with a higher treatment-related mortality in thalassaemia patients after transplant.  (+info)

Combination chemotherapy for choroidal melanoma: ex vivo sensitivity to treosulfan with gemcitabine or cytosine arabinoside. (8/594)

Treatment of choroidal melanoma by chemotherapy is usually unsuccessful, with response rates of less than 1% reported for dacarbazine (DTIC)-containing regimens which show 20% or more response rates in skin melanoma. Recently, we reported the activity of several cytotoxic agents against primary choroidal melanoma in an ATP-based tumour chemosensitivity assay (ATP-TCA). In this study, we have used the same method to examine the sensitivity of choroidal melanoma to combinations suggested by our earlier study. Tumour material from 36 enucleated eyes was tested against a battery of single agents and combinations which showed some activity in the previous study. The combination of treosulfan with gemcitabine or cytosine arabinoside showed consistent activity in 70% and 86% of cases, respectively. Paclitaxel was also active, particularly in combination with treosulfan (47%) or mitoxantrone (33%). Addition of paclitaxel to the combination of treosulfan + cytosine analogue added little increased sensitivity. For treosulfan + cytosine arabinoside, further sequence and timing experiments showed that simultaneous administration gave the greatest suppression, with minor loss of inhibition if the cytosine analogue was given 24 h after the treosulfan. Administration of cytosine analogue 24 h before treosulfan produced considerably less inhibition at any concentration. While we have so far been unable to study metastatic tumour from choroidal melanoma patients, the combination of treosulfan with gemcitabine or cytosine arabinoside shows activity ex vivo against primary tumour tissue. Clinical trials are in progress.  (+info)

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