The role of high-dose therapy and autologous stem cell transplantation for pediatric bone and soft tissue sarcomas

Abstract

The prognosis for children with bone and soft tissue sarcomas has significantly improved since the advent of effective multiagent chemotherapy, aggressive surgery for local disease and more precise delivery of radiotherapy doses. However, in a small proportion of patients that present with high-risk disease, long-term outcome has not substantially increased, with disease-free survival rates still in the order of 20-30%. It is therefore clear that novel therapies are needed for children with these tumors. Based on the highly chemosensitive nature of the majority of pediatric sarcomas, several small studies have been conducted to investigate the potential role of high-dose chemotherapy followe..