Children’s Oncology Group Study Demonstrates Improved Care for Certain Childhood Brain Tumors
October 8, 2008, Bethesda, MD – At the 40th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Pediatric Oncology in Berlin, Germany, a multi-institutional study conducted by the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) was presented, announcing new research progress in the fight against low-grade brain tumors in children.
The study, led by Joann L. Ater, MD, professor of pediatrics at the Children’s Cancer Hospital at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, demonstrated that the use of chemotherapy alone, without the additional use of cranial radiation, is effective in the treatment of pediatric patients diagnosed with unresectable or progressive low-grade glioma.
The study compared two chemotherapy treatment regimens and demonstrated the superiority of a four-drug regimen compared to a standard two-drug approach, resulting in a five-year event-free survival rate that approached 50 percent.
A glioma is a type of cancer that originates in glial cells of the central nervous system of children, most often in the brain or spine. Low-grade glioma is the most common form of brain tumor in children.
Dr. Gregory Reaman, Group Chair for the Children’s Oncology Group, notes that this significant outcome demonstrates the value of the unique coordinated research work performed by the COG, the world’s premiere pediatric cancer research collaborative. Located at more 200 leading children’s hospitals, university hospitals and cancer centers across North America, the COG includes more than 5,000 dedicated experts in childhood cancer research and treatment.
“Childhood cancer is relatively rare,” he states. “Working together, clinical investigators are able improve cure rates at much faster pace than could any one individual or single institution working alone.”
This Phase III COG trial enrolled more than 400 eligible patients at COG member institutions. Together, COG member institutions treat more than 90 percent of all children in the United States diagnosed with cancer.
Dr. Reaman also states that another significant development in the management of low grade astrocytoma is to delay or avoid the use of radiation therapy to reduce or eliminate its deleterious side-effects, which will result in improved quality of children’s lives.
“Whereas very significant strides have been made in the treatment and cure of childhood cancers such as low-grade glimoas, there is increasing evidence that successful treatment comes with a significant price.”
“The aim to reduce exposure to radiation is very important in these children, and a new standard of care may be defined, however, follow-up will be necessary to determine whether the use of additional chemotherapy, particularly procarbazine, is safe as well as effective in the long term.”
Through public education, advocacy and fundraising, CureSearch National Childhood Cancer Foundation exclusively supports the life-saving pediatric cancer research of the Children’s Oncology Group, and has launched a worldwide strategic initiative to conquer childhood cancer, conquer it fully, sooner, and for all time.
About the Children’s Oncology Group
The Children’s Oncology Group (COG) is the world’s largest cooperative childhood cancer research organization, treating more than 90% of children with cancer in the United States. The COG includes more than 5,000 medical experts in childhood cancer research and treatment, located at more then 200 leading healthcare institutions in North America, moving the most promising treatments from laboratory to clinical trial to standard of care.
About CureSearch National Childhood Cancer Foundation
CureSearch National Childhood Cancer Foundation exclusively supports the work of the Children’s Oncology Group (COG), the world’s premiere pediatric cancer research collaborative, which treats more than 90 percent of children with cancer in the United States. For more information, visit: www.curesearch.org.