Autologous stem cell transplantation for soft tissue sarcoma: insufficient research into therapy
Tuesday, December 8, 2009 - 14:42
in Health & Medicine
Due to a lack of suitable studies, it is unclear whether patients with soft tissue sarcoma can benefit from autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. With this type of therapy, some of the patient's own (autologous) stem cells are removed at a convenient time and generally re-implanted after a course of high-dose chemotherapy. At present, there is neither indication nor proof of additional benefit compared to conventional chemotherapy. Owing to current gaps in knowledge, autologous stem cell transplantation for this disease should only be used within controlled trials at present. This is the conclusion of the final report of the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG), published on 25 November 2009.