Safety, tolerability, antiemetic efficacy, and pharmacokinetics of oral dolasetron mesylate in pediatric cancer patients receiving moderately to highly emetogenic chemotherapy.

Purpose: The safety, antiemetic efficacy, and pharmacokinetics of single oral doses of dolasetron, a new highly selective 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, were evaluated in children with cancer undergoing treatment with moderately to highly emetogenic chemotherapy.

Patients And Methods: A total of 32 children, ages 3 to 18 years, were enrolled in a nonrandomized, multicenter, open-label, dose-escalation study. Three oral dose levels (0.

Open-label comparison of the antiemetic efficacy of single intravenous doses of dolasetron mesylate in pediatric cancer patients receiving moderately to highly emetogenic chemotherapy.

Background: Nausea and vomiting are among the most unpleasant adverse side effects of cancer therapy.

Procedure: An open-label dose-escalation study was conducted to assess the appropriate intravenous dose of dolasetron for pediatric patients undergoing chemotherapy. Patients received dolasetron in single intravenous doses of 0.

Factors affecting the risk of contralateral Wilms tumor development: a report from the National Wilms Tumor Study Group.

Background: Approximately 1% of children with unilateral Wilms tumor develop contralateral disease. The authors assessed the demographic and histologic features associated with metachronous bilateral Wilms tumor (BWT).

Methods: Characteristics of all children registered on the first four National Wilms Tumor Studies (NWTS) were recorded.

Long-term complications and post-treatment follow-up of patients with Wilms' tumor.

An increasing number of children with Wilms' tumor can expect to be cured, reflecting the undisputed progress made in the treatment of children with this renal cancer. However, it does underscore the need to screen survivors for late effects of cancer therapy. Some of the late effects, such as those following radiation therapy, should be expected after a considerable latent period.

Genetics of Wilms' tumor.

The molecular genetic characterization of Wilms' tumor has played a prominent role in advancing our knowledge of the genetic aspects underlying the development of cancer in general. Unlike the genetic mechanism leading to the development of retinoblastoma, an embryonal tumor of childhood affecting the retina, which only requires the inactivation of one single gene, the biological pathways leading to the development of Wilms' tumor are complex and likely involve several genetic loci. These include two genes on chromosome 11p; one on chromosome 11p13 (the Wilms' tumor suppressor gene WT1) and the other on chromosome 11p15 (the putative Wilms' tumor suppressor gene WT2).