Some Pediatric Patients With Wilms’ Tumor Can Avoid Doxorubicin

the Oncology Nurse Advisor take:

According to a new study published in the journal The Lancet, researchers have found that children with Wilm's tumor who are at low risk for relapse can be given less intensive treatment by omitting doxorubicin from the treatment regimen.

For the 10-year trial, researchers followed 583 pediatric patients with stage II or III Wilm's tumor who were at intermediate risk for disease relapse. Results demonstrated that 96.5% of patients whose treatment regimen contained doxorubicin survived for 5 or more years versus 95.8% of those who did not receive the cardiotoxic drug. Researchers found that those who did not receive doxorubicin and relapsed could be successfully re-treated.

"Thanks to the results of this trial fewer children with this disease will have to have treatment that could cause them lifelong side effects without much benefit," lead author Professor Kathy Pritchard-Jones, a researcher at the Institute of Child Health, University College London and consultant oncologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London said.