Children's cancer group recommends global evaluation system for neuroblastoma to improve treatmentDecember 09, 2008An international coalition of pediatric cancer physicians and researchers has developed new systems to standardize studies of neuroblastomas across the world. In the December issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the International Neuroblastoma Risk Group (INRG) presents three sets of papers outlining a: standard classification system; pre-treatment staging system; and an analysis of a rare group of patients. The INRG studies provide for a unified system of clinical trials that will enable quicker identification of optimal treatments for neuroblastoma. Neuroblastoma is the most common solid cancer that occurs outside the cranium during childhood. For some young children, it disappears with minimal treatment. In other children, it can be relentlessly aggressive, with a high likelihood of death. Predicting the behavior of this tumor is crucial in planning appropriate treatment. The INRG task force is co-chaired by Susan Cohn, professor and director of clinical sciences at the University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital, and Andrew Pearson, chairman of paediatric oncology at the Institute of Cancer Research at Royal Marsden Hospital in the UK. Cohn says that in the past, criteria used to predict tumor behavior and stratify treatment have not been uniform throughout the world, which makes it impossible to directly compare clinical trial results. The INRG classification system is designed to create consistency of risk group assignment around the globe, and will facilitate clinical research. "We strongly recommend that cooperative groups begin using this classification system now," Cohn says. "The system will allow the direct comparison of results from clinical trials conducted in different regions of the world and will help us determine the best treatment strategies for patients with neuroblastoma," she adds. "By working together, physicians will be able to ask questions about treatment approaches that would otherwise not be possible to ask in a single cooperative group or country because of the small numbers of patients. We plan to continue to expand this database, and as new molecular tools are developed to test cancer genetics, the INRG Classification System will be refined." University of Chicago Medical Center |
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| Related Neuroblastoma Current Events and Neuroblastoma News Articles Researchers Identify Role of Gene in Tumor Development, Growth and Progression Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center and VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine researchers have identified a gene that may play a pivotal role in two processes that are essential for tumor development, growth and progression to metastasis. Weizmann Institute Scientists Discover A New Protein Partnership That Leads to Pediatric Tumor Regression Why are some pediatric cancers able to spontaneously regress? Prof. Michael Fainzilber and his team of the Weizmann Institute's Biological Chemistry Department seem to have unexpectedly found part of the answer. PET Can Help Guide Treatment Decisions for a Common Pediatric Cancer A new study published in the August issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine shows that positron emission tomography (PET) is an important tool for depicting the extent of neuroblastoma in some patients, particularly for those in the early stages of the disease. Protein That Promotes Cancer Cell Growth Identified Scientists at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have found that the Caspase-8 protein, long known to play a major role in promoting programmed cell death (apoptosis), helps relay signals that can cause cancer cells to proliferate, migrate and invade surrounding tissues. U of M Researchers Find Childhood Cancer Risk Rises with Mother's Age Research from the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota indicates that a baby born to an older mother may have a slightly increased risk for many of the cancers that occur during childhood. Variations in 5 genes raise risk for most common brain tumors Common genetic variations spread across five genes raise a person's risk of developing the most frequent type of brain tumor, an international research team reports online in Nature Genetics. Genetic finding could lead to targeted therapy for neuroblastoma Researchers have identified a genetic glitch that could lead to development of neuroblastoma, a deadly form of cancer that typically strikes children under 2. Researchers identify gene that regulates tumors in neuroblastoma Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have identified a gene that may play a key role in regulating tumor progression in neuroblastoma, a form of cancer usually found in young children. New therapy enlists immune system to boost cure rate in a childhood cancer A multicenter research team has announced encouraging results for an experimental therapy using elements of the body's immune system to improve cure rates for children with neuroblastoma, a challenging cancer of the nervous system. Immunotherapy effective against neuroblastoma in children A phase III study has shown that adding an antibody-based therapy that harnesses the body's immune system resulted in a 20 percent increase in the number of children living disease-free for at least two years with neuroblastoma. More Neuroblastoma Current Events and Neuroblastoma News Articles |
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