To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: Radiation Improves Outcomes in Treatment of Paediatric Desmoid Tumours: Presented at ASTRO URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/2169B6.htm Doctor's Guide November 2, 2007
By Ed Susman LOS ANGELES, CA -- November 2, 2007 – Adding radiation therapy to standard surgery excision has allowed doctors to control aggressive paediatric desmoid tumours, according to recent study findings. In order to evaluate the role of radiotherapy in treatment for aggressive fibromatosis, researchers reviewed records of 21 children who had been treated for desmoid tumours between the years 1997 and 2005. "Local control is difficult to achieve in paediatric patients with desmoids," said Siavash Jabbari, MD, Resident in Radiation Oncology, University of California, San Francisco, California, United States. He presented his information in a poster session on October 30, 2007, during the 49th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO). "Aggressive fibromatosis (desmoid) is a locally invasive neoplasm of mesenchymally derived connective tissues," he said. "Desmoids often exhibit a destructive and progressive clinical course with potential for local morbidity. The cornerstone for treatment of desmoids has been surgery, with the optimal goal of achieving gross total resection." According to Dr. Jabbari, 6 of the 21 patients at the institution have achieved a complete response to therapy -- three of whom underwent gross total resection with positive margins and then received adjuvant external beam radiation therapy. Two of these six patients remained free of evidence of disease after gross total resection with negative margins. One patient remained in complete response following gross total resection with unknown margin status and chemotherapy. The duration of the complete responses has ranged from 31 to 102 months. The remaining 15 patients experienced recurrences but only one had negative margins following gross total resection. Only one person recurred who had resection with positive margins and external beam radiotherapy, Dr. Jabbari said. Ten of these patients received systemic agents, resulting in one complete response and one partial response. However, none of the patients has died through their last follow-up visit. "If negative margins cannot be achieved with surgery," Dr. Jabbari said, then "radiation plays a key role in achieving 'no evidence of disease' status. Even after multiple recurrences, successful salvage is achievable, particularly when high-dose focal therapy is incorporated in the form of high-dose-rate brachytherapy, intraoperative radiation therapy or radiosurgery." The research was internally funded though the university and involved no corporate support. [Presentation title: Successful Treatment of Pediatric Desmoids Using Radiation as a Component of Multimodality Therapy. Abstract 2675] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.