Hematopoietic progenitor cells may serve as surrogates for CD34(+) cells in PBSCT. However, further investigations are required to verify this.

The treatment goals for metastatic breast cancer (MBC) are prolonging survival and improving the quality of life. Eribulin, a non-taxane tubulin inhibitor, demonstrated improved survival in previous studies and also showed mild toxicity when used in late-line therapy for MBC. We conducted a phase II study to investigate the efficacy of eribulin mesylate as the first-line chemotherapy for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative MBC. This was a phase II, open-label, single-arm, multicenter trial conducted in Japan. Patients with HER2-negative MBC received intravenous eribulin (1.4 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8 of each 21-day cycle). The primary efficacy outcome was overall response rate (ORR). Secondary outcomes included time to treatment failure, progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and safety. A total of 35 patients were enrolled and received a median of 8 (range 1–21) cycles of eribulin therapy. ORR and clinical benefit rate were 54.3 and 62.9 %, respectively. Median PFS was 5.8 months and median OS was 35.9 months. Grade 3 or 4 neutropenia was observed in 63 % of patients. The majority of non-hematological adverse events were mild in severity. The present trial demonstrated that eribulin has antitumor activity comparable with other key established cytotoxic agents with acceptable safety and tolerability. Thus, eribulin as first-line chemotherapy might be beneficial for patients with HER2-negative MBC.

We report the successful management of stage III colon cancer in an elderly patient who received an adjuvant chemotherapy regimen of capecitabine plus oxaliplatin (CAPOX) with the Japanese kampo medicine ninjin'yoeito (NYT). A 75-year-old woman with a medical history of hypertension presented at another institution with fecal occult blood, and a colonoscopy that showed a type II tumor in the sigmoid colon. She was referred to our hospital for tumor resection, where colonoscopy confirmed the location of the type II tumor in the sigmoid colon. Histopathology of the biopsy specimen indicated a moderately differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma. Enhanced computed tomography of the thorax and abdomen indicated thickening of the sigmoid colon wall. Regional lymph node metastasis was suspected, but distant metastasis was not indicated. A blood examination revealed an elevated carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) concentration (32.7 ng/ml). Following a diagnosis of cancer of the sigmoid colon, clinical stage IIIb [cT4a, N1b, M0], a laparoscopic sigmoid colectomy was performed without complications. The postoperative histopathological examination revealed a moderately differentiated to mucinous adenocarcinoma. Three of 16 retrieved lymph nodes contained malignant cells. The final tumor classification was Stage IIIb [pT4a, pN1b, M0]. The patient recovered uneventfully, and was discharged 10 days after surgery with a recommendation for adjuvant chemotherapy with CAPOX starting 4 weeks after surgery. The patient also received 7.5 g of NYT daily throughout the adjuvant chemotherapy course. She did not report any loss of appetite, general fatigue, peripheral neuropathy, neutropenia, or febrile neutropenia. During a 1-year postoperative follow-up, she has not experienced any recurrence. We conclude that NYT might be useful for reducing the adverse effects of anticancer therapy, particularly in elderly patients.

Nab-PTX 175 mg/m/3wks regimen has a good safety profile and less frequent CIPN. This regimen can contribute to the strategy of MBC treatment.

Abstract. Although the concurrent use of anthracycline-containing chemotherapy and taxane with trastuzumab are considered the treatment of choice for the primary systemic therapy of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-overexpressing early breast cancer, non-anthracycline regimens, such as concurrent administration of docetaxel and carboplatin with trastuzumab, exhibited similar efficacies in a previous study. In addition, tri-weekly treatment with nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-paclitaxel) resulted in significantly higher response rates and a favorable safety profile compared with standard paclitaxel for metastatic breast cancer patients in another phase III study. Based on these results, a phase I study of combination therapy with nab-paclitaxel, carboplatin and trastuzumab was planned, in order to estimate its efficacy and safety for HER2-overexpressing locally advanced breast cancer. The present study was designed to determine the dose-limiting toxicity (DLT), maximum tolerated dose and recommended dose of this combination treatment in women with HER2-overexpressing locally advanced breast cancer. The starting dose of nab-paclitaxel was 220 mg/m 2 (level 1), and the dose was escalated to 260 mg/m 2 (level 2). Nab-paclitaxel was administered with carboplatin (area under the curve, 6 mg/ml/min) and trastuzumab tri-weekly. A total of 6 patients were enrolled. Although no DLT was observed during the first cycle, 4 patients developed grade 4 thrombocytopenia, 2 had grade 4 neutropenia and 3 exhibited a grade 4 decrease in hemoglobin levels. In the present phase I study, although no patients experienced DLTs, this regimen was associated with severe hematological toxicities and it was not well tolerated. However, considering the high efficacy and lower risk of cardiotoxicity and secondary carcinogenesis with taxane, platinum and trastuzumab combination therapy, further evaluation of another regimen including weekly administration or a more accurate dose setting should be conducted.Phase I study of nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel, carboplatin and trastuzumab in women with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-overexpressing breast cancer