The purpose of this research is to enable Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) to continue to participate in the activities of the Pediatric Oncology Group (POG) in concert with its affiliate institutions; Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC), Fitzsimons Army Medical Center (FAMC), Letterman Army Medical Center (LAMC), and Tripler Army Medical Center (TAMC). The primary objective will be to solve the problems of childhood malignancy through the collaborative use of ideas, protocols, multimodality expertise and patient material. Collegiality would be encouraged within the Uniformed Services Oncology Consortium (USOC) and with other POG institutions. A multimodality team is present within each USOC institutions and will be utilized in working toward achieving the aims of this research. Approximately one hundred new patient entries per calender year may be expected from Walter Reed and its affiliates in USOC.
Specific aims are (1) improve the induction rate and median remission times of children with acute non-lymphocytic leukemia (ANLL), including the assessment of TdT in relation to prognosis and survival, (2) improve the long-term survival of children with Stage IV rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), (3) to evaluate the morphological and stochemical features of acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) in reference to surface markers, percent induction, and treatment, (4) to evaluate a variety of assigned topics relating to children and adolescents with RMS icluding: Bone marrow metastases at diagnosis, hepatobiliary RMS, congential defects, long-term effects, and piloting of new therapies in collaboration with the IRS-committee, (5) to determine the effect of age and metastatic site on survival in IV-S neuroblastoma. Secondary specific aims are (1) to provide a multidisciplinary approach for the care of children with malignancy and their families, (2) to evaluate granulocyte function and support in the compromised host, (3) to evaluate the length of infusion time as a variable in the kinetics of moderate dose methotrexate, and (4) assist in the POG writing committee in Hodgkin's Disease.
| van Eys, J; Pullen, J; Head, D et al. (1986) The French-American-British (FAB) classification of leukemia. The Pediatric Oncology Group experience with lymphocytic leukemia. Cancer 57:1046-51 |
