Head of Department, Dr. Vladimir I. Kovalev, is telling:

The Department of Oncology, RCCH, is the leading specialized oncological department in the Russian system of child health protection. It provides diagnostic procedures and combined treatment to children with solid malignant tumors, except for tumors of the central nervous system. Our patients have malignant tumors of kidney, liver, bones, soft tissues, thyroid gland, urinary bladder, other organs and tissues; some of them have intermediate (desmoid) tumors or benign tumors with localization that is difficult for surgical access.
The department has 30 beds and admits 200 to 300 children with oncological diseases each year. The average duration of treatment is 46.5 days per patient. The surgical lethality rate at the department is stable and low (0.6-0.8%).

Our department is the only one in Russia providing most advanced treatment of children with malignant bone tumors, which enables us to preserve the affected extremity: we can use both bone allografts and contemporary self-elongating endoprostheses.

We have achieved good results in surgical and chemotherapeutic treatment of hepatic tumors. We use a unique method of chemohormonal therapy and surgical treatment of desmoids.

We have introduced the protocol of high-dose chemotherapy with subsequent marrow transplantation in the case of Ewing's sarcoma. Also, we perform radical surgeries of tumors even with localizations that are difficult for surgical access. We use contemporary intensive chemotherapeutic schemes.

Our department collaborates with the Chair of Surgical Pediatric Diseases of the Russian State Medical University (headed by Academician Yu. Isakov) and with the Research Institute of Pediatric Hematology (headed by Prof. A. Rumyantsev). We also maintain close scientific and practical relations with the Research Institute of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology (Oncological Scientific Center, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences), with the Department of Radiation Therapy at the Research Center for Radiology and Roentgenology (headed by Prof. O. Shcherbenko), and with the Herzen Oncological Institute (headed by Academician V. Chissov).
The staff of the department perform active scientific work. They have developed and introduced a unique method of extremity-saving surgeries in children up to 12 years of age and defended three Ph.D. theses (on intraarterial chemotherapy, organ-preserving surgeries in osteogenic sarcoma, and contemporary treatment of Ewing's sarcoma). Their research work also concerns thoracoscopy, combined treatment of hepatic tumors, desmoids, Ewing's sarcoma, and osteogenic sarcoma in children.
Our department admits children with all kinds of solid tumors from all regions of Russia, from newborns to children of 15.