The occurrence of malignancy in the pediatric age group is an uncommon but serious event. Since little data are available on the extent, nature or referral patterns of childhood cancer in West Virginia, we conducted a survey of 782 primary care physicians and 17 regional referral centers. The results showed that 249 cases of malignancy in the pediatric age group were reported and that 68% of children with newly diagnosed childhood malignancy were referred to institutions within West Virginia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLeukemia is the most common cancer in childhood with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) the most common subtype. While once uniformly fatal, today leukemia is a highly curable disease. To determine the outcomes of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in West Virginia, we performed a retrospective analysis of the results of treatment of children and adolescents with B-lineage ALL diagnosed between 2/86 and 1/91 and treated by the pediatric oncology teams at Morgantown or Charleston.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThirty children with refractory acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) were treated with mitoxantrone, 8 mg/m2/day, for 5 days. Three children received a second course of the drug 3 to 4 weeks later. All but two patients had received prior anthracycline therapy.
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