Adjuvant therapies of postsurgical minimal residual disease.

Abstract

The review summarizes the most recent results obtained with present combined adjuvant strategy for the treatment of resectable cancer. Recent important randomized clinical trials, either unicentric or polycentric, are discussed. As far as pediatric tumors are concerned post-surgical adjuvant chemotherapy was proved to play a useful role in prolonging the disease-free survival in Wilms tumor, rhabdomyosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma. Results obtained in the treatment of medulloblastoma and osteogenic sarcoma need further investigations. In adult neoplasms the most important results with combined modality approach are presently being obtained in breast cancer and probably in melanoma. No consistent improvement by adjuvant chemotherapy has been observed in colorectal cancer.