Less Chemotherapy Needed for Wilms' Tumor Patients
As a result of an eight-year-long clinical trial, people with Wilms' tumor (a cancer of the kidney that most commonly occurs in children) can now receive fewer chemotherapy treatments with fewer side effects. Results from the study were published in the January 1998 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology (see the journal abstract).
Researchers found that a single intensive dose of chemotherapy was just as effective as the standard five- or three-day regimen, when both were administered in combination with other chemotherapy drugs. Therefore they recommend the single-dose treatment as the new standard practice.
Over an eight-year period, 1,687 previously untreated children with various stages of Wilms' tumor participated in this trial through the National Wilms' Tumor Study. Different groups were treated with either a single-dose or divided-dose administration of dactinomycin or doxorubicin, both given in combination with vincristine.
Researchers found that the two-year relapse-free survival rates were equivalent for children who received treatment over several days (low-risk 91.4 percent, high-risk 90.0 percent) and those who received a single intensive dose (low-risk 91.3 percent, high-risk 87.3 percent).
With this treatment, Wilms' tumor patients typically experience less severe side effects and can make fewer doctor and hospital visits. Intense side effects and frequent medical visits can be especially traumatic for children diagnosed with cancer, and thus the findings of this trial are particularly meaningful.
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