Treatment of Infantile Fibrosarcoma in children in Germany
Best hospitals and doctors for infantile fibrosarcoma treatment in Germany
Leading hospitals
Cost for treatment
Content
- About infantile fibrosarcoma
- Why does infantile fibrosarcoma occur?
- Diagnostics
- Treatment
- Rehabilitation
- Why treat infantile fibrosarcoma in Germany?
- Where to go for treatment of infantile fibrosarcoma in Germany?
- The cost of treatment of infantile fibrosarcoma in Germany
- How to go for infantile fibrosarcoma treatment in Germany during a lockdown?
Malignant neoplasms in children of the first year of life account for 20-25 cases per 100,000 patients. Infantile fibrosarcoma, which occurs with a frequency of 1% of all cancer cases in this population, is a rare tumor in the first year of life.
About infantile fibrosarcoma
Infantile fibrosarcoma is a malignant tumor of fibrous connective tissue that develops from the ligaments and tendons of soft tissues. Infantile fibrosarcoma is a rare, slow-growing and painless tumor. The most frequent localization of infantile fibrosarcoma is extremities.
Clinically, the tumor looks like a soft tissue mass with abundant vascularization. In a morphological study, the infantile fibrosarcoma is macroscopically represented by a round or oval-shaped node with a solid structure. The tissue of the tumor is densely elastic and gray.
The clinical manifestations of this type of sarcoma depend on the size, localization, and spreading of tumor. Metastatic forms of infantile fibrosarcoma are rare (less than 10%), and metastases are mainly localized in the lungs, bones, and lymph nodes.
Why does infantile fibrosarcoma occur?
The causes of infantile fibrosarcoma, like with any other rare soft tissue tumor, remain unknown.
However, it is assumed that infantile fibrosarcoma develops from immature cells of the connective soft tissue. The cell degeneration in most cases occurs even before birth.
Certain factors contribute to the development of infantile fibrosarcoma. One possible factor is genetic predisposition.
So, if someone has cases of soft tissue tumors in the family, then the children are at increased risk of developing infantile fibrosarcoma. The information on the genetic predisposition to the development of the disease is still not enough to call it the main cause of infantile fibrosarcoma.
Diagnostics
If a child is suspected of having infantile fibrosarcoma, then a comprehensive examination is carried out in German hospitals by doctors of various specialities.
First of all, the diagnosis must be confirmed. If the diagnosis is confirmed, the type of tumor the child has and the extent of the disease’s spread throughout the body are determined in German hospitals.
To detect infantile fibrosarcoma, diagnostic imaging is carried out. Usually, it’s magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). With this standard method, specialists of the hospital can see the tumor, its size, location, and relation to the adjacent anatomical structures (internal organs, blood vessels, and nerves), as well as spread into other parts of the body.
For the final diagnosis in each case, microscopic (histological) and molecular genetic testing is required.
To confirm the metastatic form of infantile fibrosarcoma, X-rays and computed tomography (CT) of the lungs, magnetic resonance imaging of the skull, skeletal scintigraphy (bone scan), as well as bone marrow biopsy are performed. Further additional examinations, such as ultrasound scan and positron emission tomography (PET), may be required depending on the clinical picture and therapeutic situation.
Treatment
After the final diagnosis is made, doctors in German hospitals draw up a treatment plan. The specialists who take care of the patient draw up an individual treatment program (the so-called risk-adapted treatment), which takes into account certain prognostic factors that affect the overall prognosis of the disease.
Treatment of infantile fibrosarcoma requires an interdisciplinary approach. The main method of choice is radical surgical treatment. Chemotherapy is recommended for patients with inoperable and metastatic tumors. Advanced biological medicine or drug therapy in most cases is a priority in patients with inoperable fibrosarcomas localized in the soft tissues of the extremities. Such an approach avoids amputation and preserves functional activity.
It should be noted that neoadjuvant chemotherapy or advanced biological medicine followed by surgical removal of the tumor improves treatment outcomes.
What kind of therapy is optimal in each particular case depends mainly on the type and location of the tumor, as well as on the age of patients. It is also necessary to take into account the stage of cancer and sensitivity of tumor to chemotherapy or advanced biological medicine. The goal of treatment is to achieve long-term improvement in patients so that the risk of treatment complications remains as low as possible.
Chemotherapy
To destroy all tumor cells (including those that can only be seen with diagnostic imaging, such as magnetic resonance imaging), chemotherapy must include a combination of various drugs that suppress cell proliferation and tumor growth, and are most effective against soft tissue sarcomas. Patients receive several courses of therapy. There are pauses between chemotherapy courses so that the child's body may rest.
Surgery and radiation therapy
Surgery aimed at the complete removal of the tumor is often planned after the first course of chemotherapy. This is done to reduce the tumor volume through chemotherapy. Preparation for the operation is discussed in the hospital with the involvement of related specialists (pediatric oncologist, surgeon, radiation therapist, radiologist) and is carried out very carefully. It is especially important to decide in what order the surgery and radiation therapy should be performed.
Rehabilitation
The chances of patients to recover from infantile fibrosarcoma depend on several factors. The most important are the age and health condition of the child, the peculiarities of the tumor and its size, how much it has grown in the body at the time of diagnosis, and whether it is possible to remove the tumor surgically.
Because in recent decades, children with infantile fibrosarcomas have been treated according to the adjusted research protocols, the results of treatment efficacy have improved significantly, and, accordingly, the rehabilitation period became shorter and easier for patients.
To date, the 10-year survival rate for patients with infantile fibrosarcomas averages about 70%. Progress has been achieved because approaches to the treatment of the disease have been constantly adjusted depending on the information from the research.
If the confluence of various factors is favorable, then the long-term survival can exceed 80%. But if at the time of diagnosis the child has a tumor of a very large size and it cannot be removed, the disease has already spread to the lymph nodes and/or the tumor has already metastasized to other parts of the body, then this situation is less favorable. And along with it, the chances of long-term survival are reduced, as doctors say.
Why treat infantile fibrosarcoma in Germany?
In leading hospitals, patients with infantile fibrosarcomas are treated according to standardized protocols. The goal of all programs is to increase long-term survival and at the same time reduce the possible negative effects on the child's body.
In Germany, such treatment protocols are developed and monitored by the Society of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology, which conducts therapy optimization studies.
The experience of treating patients with infantile fibrosarcomas over the past 30 years has shown that if the disease is not treated according to the protocol, the chances of survival are very small. In German hospitals, there is a regulation of the Federal Commission, according to which all patients with malignant diseases must be treated according to the research of the Society of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology.
In 2009, numerous hospitals and medical centers in Germany conducted a cooperative study of infantile fibrosarcoma, based on which the treatment protocols were created.
Where to go for treatment of infantile fibrosarcoma in Germany?
The best hospitals for the treatment of infantile fibrosarcoma are:
- Pediatric Diagnostic Hospital M1 Munich
- HELIOS Clinic Krefeld
- Academic Children's Hospital Nuremberg
- University Hospital Frankfurt am Main
- University Hospital Heidelberg
Most international patients come for cancer treatment in Germany. And this is because cancer treatment in Germany combines the use of the latest developments in surgical techniques, chemotherapy and radiotherapy regimens, and advanced biological medicine in the clinical practice of the hospitals.
Medical technology and equipment are another area where German hospitals are considered the best. No matter what hospital we are talking about – university hospitals, private hospitals, or any other hospitals – the up-to-date equipment is used in hospitals throughout the whole country. The latest 3 Tesla MRI, high-resolution CT, surgical robotic assistants, electronic microscopes, and the latest linear accelerators are all at the disposal of local hospitals that use them for effective cancer treatment in Germany.
More specific information about each hospital is available on the Booking Health website.
The cost of treatment of infantile fibrosarcoma in Germany
The cost of treatment in Germany varies depending on the hospital and the number of procedures included in the treatment.
The cost of diagnosis of infantile fibrosarcoma is in the price range of 3,107-3,992 EUR. The cost of treatment with chemotherapy is in the price range of 10,498-12,945 EUR. The cost of treatment with surgery is in the price range of 17,161-19,400 EUR.
It is worth noting that a child may need additional procedures as the treatment goes, so keep that in mind when dealing with financial matters.
However, you will get the information about the approximate cost of treatment beforehand.
How to go for infantile fibrosarcoma treatment in Germany during a lockdown?
Now, when the pandemic situation in most countries is stabilizing, you don’t have to think about cancer treatment in Germany as about something unreal for you. It was possible before and is more so today.
Another thing is to organize the whole treatment. It is definitely not easy and sometimes even stressful. But you are not alone in this.
Booking Health can facilitate the organization of cancer treatment in Germany and make it significantly easier to use the option of treatment abroad. This option covers a guarantee of accurate diagnosis making, access to new generation drugs, and the use of minimally invasive methods for removing malignant tumors in German hospitals.
No matter what stage of cancer a patient has, he will be provided with the highest quality medical care. Every year doctors in German hospitals save the lives of thousands of children.
With Booking Health all of it is easy to get. Besides, you don’t need to worry about such things as fluctuating cost of treatment, negotiating with the hospital, translation of the medical reports, not getting a medical visa for you and your child because the embassy at the place of residence is closed during the lockdown, booking plane tickets and transfers. Booking Health can do it all for you.
To get the information on how to start the treatment of infantile fibrosarcoma in Germany, leave the request on the Booking Health website.
Authors: Dr. Nadezhda Ivanisova, Dr. Farrukh Ahmed