Treatment of children with stages II to IV anaplastic Wilms' tumor: a report from the National Wilms' Tumor Study Group

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of the combination of vincristine, dactinomycin, and doxorubicin with (regimen J) or without (regimen DD-RT) cyclophosphamide on the relapse-free survival of children with stages II to IV Wilms' tumor and focal or diffuse anaplasia.

Patients and methods: We reviewed the clinical courses of all randomized patients from National Wilms' Tumor Study (NWTS)-3 and NWTS-4 with stages II to IV anaplastic Wilms' tumor, and determined the 4-year relapse-free survival rate separately for those with focal or diffuse anaplasia. Anaplasia was evaluated using newly developed topographic definitions for focal and diffuse anaplasia.

Results: The 4-year relapse-free survival rate for five children with focal anaplasia who received regimen DD-RT was 80.0%, compared with 100.0% for eight children who received regimen J (P = .68). The 4-year relapse-free survival rate for 29 children with diffuse anaplasia treated with regimen DD-RT was 27.2%, compared with 54.8% for 30 children treated with regimen J (P = .02).

Conclusion: We conclude that children with focal anaplasia have an excellent prognosis when treated with vincristine, doxorubicin, and dactinomycin. The addition of cyclophosphamide to the three-drug treatment regimen improved the 4-year relapse-free survival rate of children with stage II to IV diffuse anaplasia. This result suggests that further intensification of the treatment regimen for children with diffuse anaplasia may result in an additional improvement in prognosis.