title: Staging of pediatric cancers: problems in the development of a national system.
abstract: The majority of the common pediatric cancers are managed on clinical protocols and are treated in pediatric oncology centers. For this reason these neoplasms are being staged by a variety of protocols depending on the protocol study. Examples of the evaluation and currently used staging systems for Wilms' tumor, neuroblastoma, and rhabdomyosarcoma are presented. The goal is to develop a nationally accepted staging system for these common pediatric tumors that is broadly accepted for treatment planning, determining prognosis, and comparing institutional end results. It is obvious that, if a nationally accepted staging system is to evolve, the leadership of the existing national clinic research trials must be part of the process.
authors.affiliation: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN.
authors.forename: I D
authors.initials: ID
authors.lastname: Fleming
mesh_terms: D000310:Adrenal Gland Neoplasms / Q000145:classification / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000145:classification / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D009367:Neoplasm Staging / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D009447:Neuroblastoma / Q000145:classification / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D011379:Prognosis; D012208:Rhabdomyosarcoma / Q000145:classification / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D012983:Soft Tissue Neoplasms / Q000145:classification / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D014481:United States; D009396:Wilms Tumor / Q000145:classification / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery