Treatment of Children With Cancer

Trial Information

Treatment of Children With Cancer

Background:

Children are referred to the Pediatric Oncology Branch (POB) for possible enrollment in
clinical protocols for the treatment of cancer. While some children are not eligible for a
specific protocol, they may present with disease manifestations that offer the potential for
important new insights into the pathogenesis or clinical behavior of their underlying
disease. In addition, children who have completed participation in a clinical protocol but
do not currently have therapeutic protocol alternatives may continue to provide POB with
important information. Diseases of interest to the POB include, but are not limited to
lymphoma, brain tumors, Ewings sarcoma, leukemia, neuroectodermal tumors, osteosarcoma, and
rhabdomyosarcoma. Hence, serial clinical evaluation of such patients, including the
performance of clinical, laboratory, and diagnostic studies to help elucidate longitudinally
the underlying disease mechanisms, and when clinically indicated standard care therapies,
will assist POB meet its overall mission.

Objectives:

To be able to follow and evaluate children with cancer or pre-cancer syndromes referred to
the Pediatric Oncology Branch who present with disease manifestations that lend themselves
to clinical evaluation and are of unique scientific import.

Eligibility:

Patients who are evaluated by the Pediatric Oncology Branch and are: Children with cancer
(or a pre-cancer syndrome), between the age(s) of 3 months - 40 years who present with
disease manifestations of special interest to Pediatric Oncology Branch investigators,
because they are likely to shed led light on disease pathogenesis or the clinical behavior
of the disorder. Patients between the ages of 30 and 40 years may be evaluated on this
protocol if their cancer (or pre-cancer syndrome) is of specific interest to the Pediatric
Oncology Branch.

Design:

The medical procedures or tests will be selected for each patient on the basis of his/her
individual diagnosis (or presumed diagnosis). When clinically indicated, standard therapy
will be administered and patients will be followed according to standard medical practice.
Specimens may be collected for clinical care purposes only to evaluate the patient's status.

No investigational tests, drugs or therapies will be administered in this protocol.