Drug Therapy and Curability of Childhood Cancer

Abstract

Solid tumors outnumbered the leukemias and lymphomas in the first 1000 cases of cancer in children treated at the M. D. Anderson Hospital. The dramatic benefit of chemotherapy in seemingly hopeless situations is illustrated by three case summaries. “Inoperable” Wilms' tumor, neuroblastoma and rhabdomyosarcoma each became operable following drug treatment. Increased knowledge of cell kinetics, drug action, and dose scheduling should also improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy in other forms of childhood cancer.