Dose-dense chemotherapy (DDC) is a form of cancer treatment that reduces the amount of time normally taken between rounds of systemic chemotherapy. The goal of DDC is to take advantage of known facts about the growth cycle of cancer cells, and attack these cells at a vulnerable point in their development. This form of treatment increases the chances of long-term survival for some sufferers of breast cancer.
Understanding Dose-Dense Chemotherapy
Standard protocols for chemotherapy treatment combine doses of systemic medication with periods of rest to allow your body time to recover from a number of common side effects, according to the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania. The typical interval between treatments is three or four weeks. DDC shortens this interval to one or two weeks in order to have the maximum effect on newly dividing cancer cells. Before the development of DDC, cancer experts believed that an accelerated pace of treatment would lead to serious disruptions in your body's ability to create healthy white blood cells, which are vital in fighting opportunistic infection. In order to overcome this difficulty, DDC is given in combination with specialized compounds called growth factors, which stimulate white blood cell production.
Suitability of Treatment
Breast cancer patients may receive DDC in a number of circumstances. If you are scheduled for surgical removal of a breast tumor, DDC may be used in advance of surgery to improve the chances of a positive outcome. You may also receive DDC in the aftermath of surgery to help eliminate any residual cancer cells. DDC may also be used if your cancer has spread (metastasized) to your lymph nodes, or if your cancer cells contain certain protein receptors that increase their aggressiveness and growth rate.
Treatment Methods and Options
During DDC, you will receive chemotherapy treatments more frequently, but the doses of medication given at each treatment will not increase. Common options for breast cancer chemotherapy include paclitaxel (Taxol), doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, cytoxan and adriamycin. Common growth factors used in combination with these medications include filgrastim (Neupogen), pegfilgrastim (Neulasta) and sargramostim (Leukine). In addition to medications that boost your white cell production, you may receive medications designed to strengthen red blood cell production. Examples include epoetin alfa (Epogen) and darbepoetin alfa (Aranesp). If your breast cancer contains significant numbers of harmful protein receptors, you may also be treated with an antibody-based medication called trastuzumab (Herceptin) which targets these receptors and slows or stops their activity. As an added benefit, DDC seems to decrease the risks of heart damage commonly associated with Herceptin use.
Potential Outcomes
The National Cancer Institute reports positive results for DDC treatment of breast cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes. Benefits of treatment compared with standard chemotherapy include lower rates of cancer recurrence and improved long-term rates of survival. However, other studies cited by the Abramson Cancer Center show that these results are not uniform, and some women receive no benefit from DDC. Prior to treatment, there is no way to determine whether DDC will work for you. Consult your doctor for further information.
Tags: cancer cells, cell production, Abramson Cancer, Abramson Cancer Center, blood cell, blood cell production
