Innovations in surgical treatment of pediatric solid tumors

Abstract

The overall survival of children with solid tumors has shown a substantial increase in the past decades due to progress in all of the disciplines involved in the treatment. The poor prognosis for advanced stages of disease and the morbidity related to therapeutic procedures are still achallenge. Innovations in the surgical treatment of solid tumors can contribute to increase the survival rate of affected children and to decrease the treatment-related morbidity. Considering these aspects, the successful implementation of innovations is described based on four examples. (1) Tumor nephrectomy has long been the standard surgical procedure for Wilms tumor/nephroblastoma. Modifications of the surgical technique allow anephron-sparing resection of the tumor and thereby reducing the long-term effects of nephrectomy. (2) According to the protocols of the International Society of Pediatric Oncology (SIOP) liver transplantation should be used for high-risk hepatoblastoma. Virtual imaging methods based on new software processors enable amore accurate and individual planning of the surgical procedure and an organ-saving extended tumor resection which avoids a transplantation. (3) Mutilating surgical procedures are sometimes necessary for a curative treatment of rhabdomyosarcoma. By combining surgery and brachytherapy mutilating surgical procedures for urogenital rhabdomyosarcomas can be avoided. (4) Pulmonary metastatic nodules can become accessible to minimally invasive resection if CT-guided marking by coil wire is preoperatively performed. In selected cases thoracotomy will be avoided and due to ashorter postoperative course, the time to the subsequent adjuvant chemotherapy will be reduced.