0000000000498604
AUTHOR
Alfred Längler
Oral topotecan in children with recurrent or progressive high-grade glioma: a Phase I/II study by the German Society for Pediatric Oncology and Hematology.
BACKGROUND Continuous oral treatment with topotecan may be more effective than the typical 1-day and 5-day treatment schedules. In previous studies of continuous treatment with topotecan, increased intestinal side effects were reported in adult patients; however, the experience in pediatric patients and patients with high-grade glioma is quite limited. METHODS Thirty-two pediatric patients with recurrent high-grade glioma (16 females and 16 males; median age, 9.5 years) were enrolled in the current Phase I/II study. Tumor locations included the cerebral cortex (n = 5), pons (n = 18), and other sites (n = 9). An injectable formulation of topotecan was administered orally, in ice-cold orange …
Contributing factors and outcomes of treatment refusal in pediatric oncology in Germany
Background In Germany, about 1,800 new cases of pediatric cancer under 15 years of age are diagnosed each year and survival rates approach 80%. Although treatment is covered by health insurance and is thus available for all patients at no cost, treatment refusal and treatment discontinuation have been observed. However, no data providing numbers and outcomes for developed countries have been published thus far. Procedure A questionnaire-based survey was performed among German pediatric oncology centers to ascertain the number of treatment refusals among pediatric patients who were diagnosed between January 2008 and December 2009 in Germany. Results Questionnaires from 70 of 73 centers were …
Complementary and alternative treatment methods in children with cancer. A population based retrospective survey on the prevalence of use in Germany
Introduction Few studies have been conducted to date on the prevalence of use of complementary and alternative treatment methods (CAM) in paediatric oncology and those that have been conducted are often not representative. We therefore decided to study a representative sample of children with cancer in the German population. Patients and methods The study took the form of a retrospective survey amongst all parents whose children were first diagnosed with a disease covered by the German Childhood Cancer Registry in 2001. The primary objectives of the survey were to establish the prevalence of use of CAM and the factors related to its use. Results Of the 1595 questionnaires sent out, 1063 (67…