The National Wilms Tumor Study Group (NWTS) is a

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

research cooperative group in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

formed to study a type of

kidney In humans, the kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped blood-filtering organ (anatomy), organs that are a multilobar, multipapillary form of mammalian kidneys, usually without signs of external lobulation. They are located on the left and rig ...

tumor A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...

that affects children called

Wilms' tumor Wilms' tumor or Wilms tumor, also known as nephroblastoma, is a cancer of the kidneys that typically occurs in children (rarely in adults), and occurs most commonly as a renal tumor in child patients. It is named after Max Wilms, the German sur ...

. In 2001, NWTS merged with several other pediatric oncology cooperative groups to create the

Children's Oncology Group The Children's Oncology Group (COG), a clinical trials group supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), is the world's largest organization devoted exclusively to pediatric cancer research. The COG conducts a spectrum of clinical research ...

(COG). However, the NWTS is still active in name today completing follow-up of the late effects of treatment for patients previously enrolled in its trials. The acronym NWTS is pronounced like the word "nitwits". The NWTS was formed in 1969 by member institutions from

Children's Cancer Study Group The Children's Oncology Group (COG), a clinical trials group supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), is the world's largest organization devoted exclusively to pediatric cancer research. The COG conducts a spectrum of clinical research ...

(CCG), Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG), and

CALGB Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB; former name: Acute Leukemia Group B, ALGB) is a cancer research cooperative group in the United States. CALGB research is focused on seven major disease areas: leukemia, lymphoma, breast cancer, lung cancer, ...

, the latter two which later merged to form the

Pediatric Oncology Group The Pediatric Oncology Group (POG) was a U.S. and Canadian clinical trial cooperative group created with the mission of studying childhood cancers. It was formed by the merger of the pediatric divisions of two other cooperative groups, the South ...

(POG). The NWTS was created with the purpose of improving survival of children with Wilms' tumor. NWTS studies were conducted at over 250 pediatric oncology treatment centers in the

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, and other countries. Approximately 70-80% of patients with Wilms' tumor were enrolled on NWTS treatment protocols, totalling 440 patients per year. NWTS ran five clinical trials, designated NWTS-1 to NWTS-5. The first four were

randomized trial In science, randomized experiments are the experiments that allow the greatest reliability and validity of statistical estimates of treatment effects. Randomization-based inference is especially important in experimental design and in survey sampl ...

s, whereas NWTS-5 was a clinical trial designed to look primarily at biologic prognostic factors and was not randomized. NWTS-5 was completed in 2003.

References

External links

Children's Oncology Group
Cancer organizations based in the United States Medical research institutes in the United States Research institutes in the United States

Children's Oncology Group {{Pediatrics-stub