title: Indications for and benefits of intensive therapies in treatment of childhood cancers.
abstract: There has been a striking improvement in the overall numbers of children and adolescents who become disease-free and remain disease-free as a result of intensive therapy as defined today, for the following cancers: acute nonlymphocytic leukemia (ANLL), non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), poor risk acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), osteosarcoma, and Ewing's sarcoma. The therapy for each of these tumors, with the exception of osteosarcoma, consisted of combination chemotherapy with or without radiotherapy and was started as soon after diagnosis as possible. Aggressive therapy of osteosarcoma has consisted of surgical removal of lung metastases and chemotherapy. Intensive chemotherapy recently has included the use of high doses of certain drugs such as cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C), methotrexate, VP-16-213 and melphalan in the treatment of patients with tumors that are currently difficult to treat.
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D003561:Cytarabine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005047:Etoposide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D007938:Leukemia / Q000188:drug therapy; D007945:Leukemia, Lymphoid / Q000188:drug therapy; D008223:Lymphoma / Q000188:drug therapy; D008558:Melphalan / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008727:Methotrexate / Q000008:administration & dosage; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012516:Osteosarcoma / Q000188:drug therapy; D012306:Risk; D012512:Sarcoma, Ewing / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D003561:Cytarabine; D005047:Etoposide; D008558:Melphalan; D008727:Methotrexate