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. 2000 Nov 22;83(11):1405–1411. doi: 10.1054/bjoc.2000.1499

Autologous graft-versus-host disease induction in advanced breast cancer: role of peripheral blood progenitor cells

E van der Wall 1, T Horn 1, E Bright 1, J-L Passos-Coehlo 1, S Bond 1, B Clarke 1, V Altomonte 1, K McIntyre 1, G Vogelsang 1, S J Noga 1, J M Davis 1, J Thomassen 1, K V Ohly 1, S M Lee 1, J Fetting 1, D K Armstrong 1, N E Davidson 1, A D Hess 1, M J Kennedy 1
PMCID: PMC2363431  PMID: 11076645

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the impact of the use of peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPCs) on the induction of autologous graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in patients with advanced breast cancer. 14 women with stage IIIB and 36 women with stage IV breast cancer received cyclosporine (CsA) 2.5 mg kg–1 i.v. daily, d 0–28, and interferon-gamma (IFNg) 0.025 mg/m2 s.c. qod, d7–28, following PBPC-T ± bone marrow transplantation (BMT). Preceding high-dose chemotherapy consisted of cyclophosphamide 6 g/m2 and thiotepa 800 mg/m2. Histologically proven ≥grade II cutaneous GVHD was induced in18/50 (36%) of patients and was independent of the source of haematopoietic support. In vitro studies showed that post-transplant, 76% of patients had developed auto-cytotoxicity against their own pre-transplant PHA-lymphoblasts. A significant correlation between the occurrence of GVHD ≥grade II and cytolysis was observed in the NK cell-line K562 and the T47D breast cancer cell-line. With a median follow-up of 2½ years, the overall survival (OS) is 58%, the disease-free survival (DFS) 26%, both independent of the development of GVHD and similar to what has been observed in other studies on high-dose chemotherapy in advanced breast cancer. It therefore remains unclear whether the induction of autologous GVHD with the occurrence of auto-cytotoxic lymphocytes can result in an anti-tumour effect in this group of patients. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer.com

Keywords: breast cancer, autoreactive T-cells, cyclosporine, CLIP, MHC-class II, peripheral stem cells

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Selected References

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