[Progress in the treatment of 155 children with rhabdomyosarcoma obtained in one center between 1962-1990].

The results of treating 155 children with rhabdomyosarcoma using protocols that (RMS) changing over the years between 1962-1990 in reported to progress in chemotherapy (CHT), introduction of megavoltage radiotherapy (RTX) and conservative surgery with attempts to preserve vital organs are presented. In the first period between 1962-1980 when mainly surgery was applied with orthovoltage RTX and low intensity CHT, only 20 of 74 children (27%) survived. In the second period 1981-1985 systemic CHT containing new cytostatic, megavoltage RTX and limited surgery applied in advanced cases after induction of CHT were introduced.

[Progress in the treatment of children with Wilms' tumor in the Department of Pediatric Oncology at the Institute of Mother and Child].

A retrospective analysis of treatment results of 242 children with Wilms tumor treated in the years 1962-1989 is presented. The patients (pts) were divided into 4 groups according to methods of treatment that changed with the time. Group I consisted of patients treated between 1962-1965.

[Role of chemotherapy in treatment of osteosarcoma].

The paper is dedicated to various forms of chemotherapy used in osteosarcoma from the very beginning in '70-ties, when only one drug treatment was applied through the following 20 years full of assays and clinical trials, which finally proved the necessity of multidrug chemotherapy in all cases of osteosarcoma. The introduction of crucial neoadjuvant chemotherapy with exemplary Rosen programme T-10 which enabled the progress of conservative limb-salvage surgery and experience with this programme of many national groups are discussed.

[Preliminary evaluation of individualized use of large doses of methotrexate for treatment of osteosarcoma in children and adolescents].

To improve the final treatment results in children with osteosarcoma, we applied after French DD-11 protocol HD MTX increasing with the younger age of patients, modified next on the basis of maximal serum drug concentrations (Cmax) as feed-back dosing. Toxic side effects were analysed according to WHO grading correlated with MTX elimination. We administered 39 HD MTX courses in 13 patients with osteosarcoma: aged 7-20 yrs (median 12 yrs).

[Alternative chemotherapy of malignant bone neoplasms in children].

The authors propose alternative chemotherapy of osteosarcoma and Ewing's sarcoma in children. The aim of this proposal was elaboration of effective and, at the same time, less expensive and less toxic therapeutic regimens. The authors recommend open surgical biopsy with doxorubicin for 3 consecutive days as a protection against the released circulating neoplastic cells.