Faster Chemo Technique Increases Survival in Children with Neuroblastoma
26 February 2007 - Institute scientists, in collaboration with researchers around the globe, have found that chemotherapy given with shorter intervals between treatments than conventional chemotherapy increases survival rates by two thirds in children with high-risk neuroblastoma.
The ten year trial co-ordinated in six countries studied the effects of administering chemotherapy every 10 rather than 21 days at 1.8 times the conventional dose on 262 children with neuroblastoma, a cancer of the special, developing nerve cells.
Neuroblastoma affects around 90 children each year in the UK and the high-risk type of the disease is one of the main causes of cancer-related deaths in children. Researchers in this study treated children over the age of one with high-risk, stage four neuroblastoma – the most aggressive form of the disease
They found five-year event-free survival rates increased by 12 per cent in the group with the rapid 10-day technique and a reduction in the time taken to move on to the next stage of treatment by 55 days. Survival in the rapid treatment group was 30.2 per cent, compared with 18.2 per cent in the standard treatment group.
Professor Andy Pearson, lead author of the paper and Chairman of The Institute’s Section of Paediatric Oncology commented: “Our method of chemotherapy increases the survival rates for children with high risk neuroblastoma and is already saving the lives of many children. Using a higher dose and having chemotherapy with shorter breaks between each treatment means that fewer children will die from the disease each year.”
Professor Andy Pearson leads the Paediatric Drug Development Team in The Institute's Section of Paediatric Oncology.
