Pedrazzoli P, Battaglia M, Da Prada G A, Lanza A, Cuomo A, Bertolini F, Pavesi L, Robustelli della Cuna G
Division of Medical Oncology, IRCCS Salvatore Maugeri Foundation, Rehabilitation Institute of Pavia, Italy.
Bone Marrow Transplant. 1997 Jul;20(2):167-9. doi: 10.1038/sj.bmt.1700854.
One of the possible drawbacks to autologous stem cell transplantation in breast cancer (BC) patients is the potential for tumor contamination in the transplanted product. We present a patient with advanced disease who received high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) and PBPC support as consolidation therapy after achieving complete remission with standard-dose first-line treatment, and suffered recurrence of the disease 6 months after transplantation. Retrospective analysis revealed the presence of contaminating cells in the leukapheretic product, and clinical evidence suggested a role for these cells in the tumor relapse.
