Word: marrows
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...anesthetized upon an operating table in the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, Calif. A surgeon inserted a 1-in.-long needle into the baby's hip and slowly began to withdraw bone marrow. In 20 minutes they removed about a cup of the viscous red liquid -- the stuff of resurrection...
...children, the doomed drug was abruptly withdrawn. Now it is making a quiet comeback. Andrulis Pharmaceuticals of Beltsville, Md., and Pediatric Pharmaceuticals of Westfield, N.J., have asked the Food and Drug Administration to approve thalidomide for experimental use. Andrulis wants it for a clinical study of patients with bone-marrow transplants. By suppressing the immune response, thalidomide may prevent the new marrow from attacking the body. Pediatric plans to provide the drug to investigators of lupus and AIDS-related mouth ulcers, which thalidomide could curtail. These small firms may have the field to themselves -- giant drugmakers are still unlikely...
...five chemotherapy agents, such as Cytoxan and methotrexate, over a period of four months to a year. Because these drugs target rapidly dividing cells, they not only destroy cancer cells but also cells in the hair follicles, the lining of the digestive tract and the bone marrow. That produces the dreaded side effects of chemo: hair loss, nausea and a decline in infection-fighting white blood cells. Premature menopause can be another consequence. Even this harsh treatment provides no guarantee of a cure, though in certain groups of patients, it can increase survival rates as much...
...trauma of surgery and the misery of chemotherapy is the nightmare of every patient. When this happens, the outlook is grim. But in recent years doctors have been experimenting with a controversial treatment for advanced and recurring breast cancer that involves massive doses of chemotherapy and a bone-marrow transplant. Annette Crossley, 45, of Glendora, Calif., is hoping it will save her life. Crossley suffered a cancer relapse just a few months after completing a course of treatment that included a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation. Given slim odds of survival, she chose to try the new treatment at the University...
Such high-dose therapy is perilous. Until the transplanted marrow replenishes the patient's supply of white blood cells, she is highly vulnerable to infection. Jacob Bitran, Crossley's oncologist, believes that the procedure is worth the risk. He and his associates have treated 67 advanced breast-cancer patients in this manner over the past four years. Though 11 have died of complications, mostly infections, 16 are in complete remission, seemingly disease free. "That means 1 in every 4 is a long-term survivor," he says. Others are not persuaded. "I am not convinced that we have the benefits...