Journal of pediatric hematology/oncology
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J. Pediatr. Hematol. Oncol. · May 2001
ReviewRhabdomyosarcoma and undifferentiated sarcoma in the first two decades of life: a selective review of intergroup rhabdomyosarcoma study group experience and rationale for Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study V.
To review the importance of prognostic factors in developing new protocols for children with rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS). ⋯ Better understanding of biologic differences and new, active agents are needed to improve outcome of patients with unfavorable features at presentation.
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J. Pediatr. Hematol. Oncol. · May 2001
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical TrialIfosfamide and etoposide are superior to vincristine and melphalan for pediatric metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma when administered with irradiation and combination chemotherapy: a report from the Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study Group.
This study was designed to estimate the partial and complete response rates (CR and PR) of two novel drug pairs (vincristine and melphalan vs. ifosfamide and etoposide) and to improve overall survival of previously untreated patients with metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma. ⋯ Although the VM-containing regimen produced a high response rate, inclusion of melphalan appeared to limit the cyclophosphamide dose that could be administered, and ultimately, this regimen was associated with a significantly worse outcome than was the IE-containing regimen. Also, the IE-containing regimen was associated with a gratifyingly high survival rate at 3 years (55%), which is significantly higher than has been observed on any previous Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study Group regimen for similar patients. We believe that this promising outcome indicates that this drug pair merits further randomized testing in metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma.