Kidney Cancer

SAN FRANCISCO-Interleukin-2 is proving to be one of the most effective treatments yet discovered for renal cell carcinoma. Speaking at the Proleukin First International Congress, sponsored by Chiron Corporation, Richard I. Fisher, MD, director of Loyola University’s Cardinal Bernadin Cancer Center, Maywood, Ill, dubbed IL-2 “the new gold standard against which other treatments need to be compared.”

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia--High doses of the investigational antiestrogen toremifene (Fareston) proved safe and effective as palliative therapy in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma, say Dr. Michael Gershanovich and colleagues, of the Professor N. N. Petrov Research Institute of Oncology, St. Petersburg, and Orion Corporation, Turku, Finland.

Dr. Paulino has written an excellent review of our present knowledge of Wilms' tumor. Not everyone would agree, however, that ultrasound has replaced the intravenous pyelogram (IVP). The National Wilms' Tumor Study Group (NWTSG) recommends IVP together with real-time ultrasonography as the preoperative imaging studies for the abdomen.[1] The former is used to establish the presence of a functioning opposite kidney and of any congenital abnormality. The latter identifies the presence and status of inferior vena cava thrombi.

Dr. Paulino provides an excellent summary of current knowledge about Wilms' tumor and its treatment. He stresses the need to improve treatment for those with aggressive tumors and possibly avoid adjuvant treatment in a subset of patients.

Paulino has thoughtfully reviewed the etiology, diagnosis, and management of Wilms' tumor. Investigators from the National Wilms' Tumor Study Group (NWTSG) first divided Wilms' tumors into two groups: those with a favorable histology and those with an unfavorable histology.[1]

Significant advances have been made in the treatment of children with Wilms' tumor. Whereas 50 years ago overall survival was less than 10%, current survival estimates approach 90%. This progress has been made