About 3 to 5 percent of patients treated with high-dose chemotherapy die prematurely due to the effects of treatment. As with standard doses of chemotherapy, high doses can also cause hair loss, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, loss of appetite, mouth sores, and skin reactions. Randomized clinical trials are now under way to evaluate this treatment in breast cancer and multiple myeloma. Because it is a highly technical procedure that usually requires extensive hospitalization, high-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell transplantation is very expensive. Costs vary from place to place.
Policies vary among insurance companies and other third-party payers.
There are no data on how many insurers now cover high dose chemotherapy with ASCT in ovarian cancer, but the GAO report mentioned above found that an increasing number of large insurers are now covering the procedure for breast cancer. Some third-party payers may not pay for treatment received as part of a clinical trial. The CIS meets the information needs of patients, the public, and health professionals. Specially trained staff provide the latest scientific information in understandable language. CIS staff answer questions in English and Spanish and distribute NCI materials.