John C Breneman1, Sarah S Donaldson2, Louis Constine3, Thomas Merchant4, Karen Marcus5, Arnold C Paulino6, David Followill7, Anita Mahajan8, Nadia Laack8, Natia Esiashvili9, Daphne Haas-Kogan5, Fran Laurie10, Arthur Olch11, Kenneth Ulin12, David Hodgson13, Torunn I Yock14, Stephanie Terezakis15, Matt Krasin4, Joseph Panoff16, Paul Chuba17, Chia-Ho Hua4, Clayton B Hess14, Peter J Houghton18, Suzanne Wolden19, Jeff Buchsbaum20, Thomas J Fitzgerald10, John A Kalapurakal21. 1. Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio. Electronic address: brenemjc@ucmail.uc.edu. 2. Department of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California. 3. Departments of Radiation Oncology and Pediatrics, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York. 4. Department of Radiation Oncology, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee. 5. Department of Radiation Oncology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. 6. Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas. 7. Imaging and Radiation Oncology Core (IROC) Houston Quality Assurance Center, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas. 8. Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. 9. Radiation Oncology Department, Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia. 10. Imaging and Radiation Oncology Core (IROC) Rhode Island, Lincoln, Rhode Island. 11. Radiation Oncology Program, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California; Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. 12. Imaging and Radiation Oncology Core (IROC) Rhode Island, Lincoln, Rhode Island; University of Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts. 13. Radiation Medicine Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 14. Department of Radiation Oncology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. 15. Department of Radiation Oncology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. 16. 21st Century Oncology, Key West, Florida. 17. Department of Radiation Oncology, St John Hospital and Medical Center, Detroit, Michigan. 18. Greehey Children's Cancer Research Institute, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas. 19. Department of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering, New York, New York. 20. National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland. 21. Department of Radiation Oncology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois.
Abstract
PURPOSE: Our aim was to review the advances in radiation therapy for the management of pediatric cancers made by the Children's Oncology Group (COG) radiation oncology discipline since its inception in 2000. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The various radiation oncology disease site leaders reviewed the contributions and advances in pediatric oncology made through the work of the COG. They have presented outcomes of relevant studies and summarized current treatment policies developed by consensus from experts in the field. RESULTS: The indications and techniques for pediatric radiation therapy have evolved considerably over the years for virtually all pediatric tumor types, resulting in improved cure rates together with the potential for decreased treatment-related morbidity and mortality. CONCLUSIONS: The COG radiation oncology discipline has made significant contributions toward the treatment of childhood cancer. Our discipline is committed to continuing research to refine and modernize the use of radiation therapy in current and future protocols with the goal of further improving the cure rates and quality of life of children with cancer.
PURPOSE: Our aim was to review the advances in radiation therapy for the management of pediatric cancers made by the Children's Oncology Group (COG) radiation oncology discipline since its inception in 2000. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The various radiation oncology disease site leaders reviewed the contributions and advances in pediatric oncology made through the work of the COG. They have presented outcomes of relevant studies and summarized current treatment policies developed by consensus from experts in the field. RESULTS: The indications and techniques for pediatric radiation therapy have evolved considerably over the years for virtually all pediatric tumor types, resulting in improved cure rates together with the potential for decreased treatment-related morbidity and mortality. CONCLUSIONS: The COG radiation oncology discipline has made significant contributions toward the treatment of childhood cancer. Our discipline is committed to continuing research to refine and modernize the use of radiation therapy in current and future protocols with the goal of further improving the cure rates and quality of life of children with cancer.