Under the Microscope

Dr. David Freyer from Children's Hospital of Los Angeles is the study chair for the new COG study "Sodium Thiosulfate in Preventing Hearing Loss in Young Patients Receiving Cisplatin for Newly Diagnosed Germ Cell Tumor, Hepatoblastoma, Medulloblastoma, Neuroblastoma, or Osteosarcoma."  

The chemotherapy drug cisplatin is a very important part of treatment regimens used for a variety of childhood cancers, including high-risk neuroblastoma.  Unfortunately, cisplatin frequently causes the serious side effect of hearing loss that usually involves both ears, is irreversible, and worsens with further cisplatin treatment.  Sometimes hearing loss requires that future cisplatin doses be decreased or discontinued altogether.  Clinically significant hearing loss is a serious health problem, especially in young children, who depend on hearing for learning, social growth and speech development.  Recent studies in animals and adults have shown that a compound called sodium thiosulfate (STS) prevents hearing loss without blocking the anticancer effects of cisplatin.  The main goal of this study, ACCL0431, is to determine whether STS is an effective and safe means for preventing cisplatin-induced hearing loss in children recently diagnosed with one of the following five forms of cancer: neuroblastoma, germ cell tumor, hepatoblastoma, osteosarcoma or medulloblastoma.

Dr. Freyer will be presenting information regarding the research that led to this trial and provide an overview of the trial and its eligibility requirements.