Uncertainties and doubts continue to exist despite nearly twenty years of investigation into the subject of dosage and timing of drug delivery. In the last few years, thousands of patients in Europe as well as the United States have received high-dose chemotherapy supported by haematopoietic rescue, although conflicting data still prevail in this area. The tendency towards the administration of higher doses might originate from the lack of breakthroughs in cancer treatment in the last decade, as well as from the revolutionary introduction into clinical practice of haematopoietic progenitor cells, and from phase II (many) and phase III (few) studies. Nevertheless, high-dose chemotherapy is not the only way to deliver more. This book will inform the reader about what has been achieved, the state of current research and expected directions in research in the near future, as far as dosage and timing are concerned. It is not intended to be an apology for high-dose treatment but rather a serious and critical overview of knowledge.

Comprises 10 contributions which resulted from a November 1997 Task Force meeting of the European School of Oncology in Milan. The work summarizes the state of current research and expected directions for the near future. Topics include the importance of dose and time in the treatment of breast cancer, high-dose chemotherapy with progenitor cell rescue in patients with lymphomas and solid tumors, ongoing studies and the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation Database, and whether chemotherapy dose is an important determinant of treatment outcome. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)