Clinical Trials and Epidemiology: Reflections of the Statistician for the National Wilms Tumor Study

• Activity Number: 482
• Type: Topic Contributed
• Date/Time: Wednesday, August 12, 2015 : 8:30 AM to 10:20 AM
• Sponsor: Committee on ASA Archives and Historical Materials
• Author(s): Norman Breslow*
• Companies: University of Washington
• Keywords: clinical trials ; childhood cancer ; epidemiology ; late effects

Abstract

The treatment of Wilms tumor is one of the great success stories in the annals of cancer chemotherapy. This talk provides a brief history of contributions to this success made by the National Wilms Tumor Study (NWTS): targeting high risk patients identified by histology and stage for the most intensive treatments and in so doing greatly reducing the use of radiation therapy. The NWTS commitment to evaluating the long term costs of cure continues in the Late Effects Study, which today relates the occurrence of congestive heart failure, secondary malignant neoplasms, end stage renal disease (ESRD) and adverse pregnancy outcomes to host factors and treatment histories. The NWTS has also contributed to the epidemiology and biology of Wilms tumor. These NWTS contributions are possible due to systematic data collection using standardized definitions and codes spanning five clinical trials, decades long follow-up of survivors and close integration of the epidemiologic findings with data emanating from the laboratory. Reference: http://www.nwtsg.org/bibliography/bibliography.html See also: http://www.fields.utoronto.ca/video-archive/event/143/2012