A study to overcome drug resistance using high-dose chemotherapy with autologous bone marrow transplantation

Drug resistant phenomenon to antitumor agents remains a major problem in cancer chemotherapy. In this study, we attempted to overcome drug resistance using high-dose chemotherapy with autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT). The main regimen consisted of Cyclophosphamide 60 mg/kg/day and thio-TEPA 6 mg/kg/day which were infused for 3 consecutive days. Three patients with malignant lymphoma, four with breast cancer, two with gastric cancer and one with ovarian cancer. All of whom were refractory to conventional chemotherapies were treated. The overall response rate was 70%. Severe bone marrow suppression, mucositis and diarrhea were observed in all patients, but these were not life-threatening and clinically manageable. Furthermore, the administration of granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) has significantly (p less than 0.05) shortened the duration of leukopenia, and has been judged to be useful for reducing severe infections and for shortening the period stayed in clean room. Our results indicates that high-dose chemotherapy with ABMT is an effective method for overcoming drug resistance.