Disciplinary Dynamics
1) Central nervous system tumor treatment
In 2018, our department comprehensively carried out the diagnosis and treatment of brain tumors. Brain malignancies are the most common malignancies in children other than leukemia. In the past 20 years, with the deepening of the understanding of brain tumors and the continuous improvement of technical methods, the recurrence-free survival rate of brain tumors has reached about 75%. In addition to following the international consensus, the department adheres to the concept of sickness requiring rehabilitation treatment, and adopts individualized treatment strategies for children with different brain tumors. The MDT team is formed by specialists in rehabilitation, radiotherapy, radiation and other related specialists to evaluate the children’s condition, so as to ensure the survival rate. Under the condition of ensuring survival rate, the team does its best to restore the child’s physical function and help them to return society.
2) Hemangioma and vascular malformations
The incidence of hemangioma and vascular malformation in neonates is from 1.1% to 2.6%, and it is as high as 10% at age of 1 year. Four years ago, the department initiated comprehensive treatment of hemangioma and vascular malformation in children, including oral drugs and percutaneous interventional injection. Totally, more than 500 cases of children with hemangioma and vascular malformation have been treated with painless ultrasound-guided precise intervention.
3) Neuroblastoma treatment
Childhood neuroblastoma is the most common malignancy in childhood except intracranial tumors, with 65% of tumors presenting as abdominal tumors and can also occur in the chest, neck, pelvis, or head. The incidence is more common in boys than girls, with 50% onset before the age of 2, 75% before the age of 4, and 90% before the age of 10. Neuroblastoma is a fast-growing tumor that metastasizes before symptoms appear in 70 percent of children. The clinical symptoms vary depending on the location of the tumor. There may be pain in both lower extremities, abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation, abnormal bowel or bladder function, paralysis of the lower extremities, weakness of the limbs, and unsteady gait. The treatment method includes preoperative chemotherapy, surgical resection, postoperative chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and maintenance therapy. Neuroblastoma reinduction technology is a original approach of our department in the treatment of neuroblastoma. The re-induction chemotherapy was used to treat children with high-risk, and obtained a survival rate which was comparable to the addition of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and immunotherapy with GD2 antibody, so that the long-term survival rate of children with neuroblastoma can reach 60-70%, totally.