RELAPSE-FREE PERIOD PREDICTION IN RADIOCHE-MOTHERAPY OF BREAST CANCER
Russian Center for Research in Radiological and Surgical Technologies, St. Petersburg The study was carried out in 55 females with breast cancer stage III-IV, aged 35-77 yrs. The patients received radiation and standard courses of CMF, or CAF, or CMF+trastuzumab, or carboplatine+vepeside, or taxotere+epirubicine, or mustoforan. Radiation was administered in fractionated single focal doses of 3 Gy. S-index was determined before treatment started by an original short (ca. 4 hrs) method of evaluating apoptotic leukocyte DNA disintegration after ex vivo test-irradation as described in Ivanov S.D. et al., 2003. The index ranged 0.40-1.44 rel. units thus correlating with 2-100 month relapse-free period. Direct correlations were identified between S-index and relapse-free period for different regimens of radiochemotherapy. S-index level in excess of 0.95 involved relatively longer relapse-free survival. To summarize our method offers means of predicting the efficacy of a particular regimen prior to treatment thus making individualization possible.