Results could be available in 2003. However, the answer to this question depends on several factors, including how long it takes researchers to enroll patients in the study. NCI expects enrollment, which began in January 1997, to take about five years. Stem cells are immature blood cells that will later develop into full-fledged white and red blood cells and platelets. Allogeneic transplants come from people other than the patient.
Syngeneic transplants come from a patient's identical twin.
Autologous bone marrow and peripheral stem cell transplants are often used in combination. 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.