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. 2001 May;84(10):1348–1353. doi: 10.1054/bjoc.2001.1803

Telomere length in breast cancer patients before and after chemotherapy with or without stem cell transplantation

C P Schröder 1,#, G B A Wisman 2,#, S de Jong 3, W T A van der Graaf 1, M H J Ruiters 3, N H Mulder 1, L F M H de Leij 3, A G J van der Zee 2, E G E de Vries 1
PMCID: PMC2363630  PMID: 11355946

Abstract

High-dose chemotherapy and peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT) may accelerate telomere length loss in haematopoietic stem cells. As data including pre-and post-treatment samples are lacking, we studied leukocyte telomere length and telomerase activity before and after treatment in breast cancer patients randomized to receive 5 adjuvant courses FEC (5-FU, epirubicin and cyclophosphamide) (n= 17), or 4 × FEC followed by high-dose cyclophosphamide, thiotepa, carboplatin and autologous PBSCT (n= 16). Haemoglobin, MCV, leukocyte-and platelet numbers were assessed prior to (t0), 5 months after (t1) and 9 months after chemotherapy (t2); these parameters were decreased at t1 and t2 compared to t0(high-dose: all parameters; standard-dose: leukocytes and platelets), and all parameters were lower after high-dose than standard-dose treatment at t1. Paired individual leukocyte samples of t0 and t1 showed telomere length change (determined by telomere restricted fragment (TRF) assay) ranging from +0.8 to –2.2 kb, with a decreased TRF length in 9 patients of both groups. Telomerase activity (determined by TRAP assay) was below detection limit in leukocyte samples of t0 and t1. Thus, standard-and high-dose chemotherapy negatively affect haematological reconstitution in this setting. In individual patients, telomere length can be remarkably changed following haematological proliferative stress after treatment. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign www.bjcancer.com

Keywords: breast cancer, telomere length, high-dose chemotherapy, autologous stem cell transplantation

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Selected References

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