Pediatric case of anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma forming a solitary skin tumor on the forearm.

A 5-year-old girl noticed a rapidly growing reddish nodule on her right forearm. Although oral antibiotics had been administrated for 2 weeks, the tumor enlarged. Skin biopsy revealed excessive infiltration of atypical neoplastic cells expressing CD4, CD30 and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK).

Successful acute lymphoblastic leukemia-type therapy in two children with mixed-phenotype acute leukemia.

Mixed-phenotype acute leukemia (MPAL) is a rare type of leukemia expressing both myeloid and lymphoid markers. There is limited information, especially on pediatric cases. Therefore, the optimal therapeutic approach to pediatric MPAL has not been defined.

The phenotype and clinical course of Japanese Fanconi Anaemia infants is influenced by patient, but not maternal ALDH2 genotype.

Studies using Fanconi anaemia (FA) mutant mouse models suggested that the combination of a defective FA pathway and aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 (ALDH2) dysfunction could provoke bone marrow failure, leukaemia and developmental defects, and that both maternal and fetal aldehyde detoxification are crucial to protect the developing embryo from DNA damage. We studied the ALDH2 genotypes of 35 Japanese FA patients and their mothers. We found that a normal maternal ALDH2 allele was not essential for fetal development of ALDH2-deficient patients, and none of the post-natal clinical parameters were clearly affected by the maternal ALDH2 genotype in these patients.

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis caused by systemic herpes simplex virus type 1 infection: Successful treatment with dexamethasone palmitate.

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a hyperinflammatory condition resulting from an uncontrolled and ineffective immune response. Here, we report a case of HLH caused by disseminated herpes simplex virus (HSV)-1 infection. The patient was initially treated with prednisolone and high-dose acyclovir.

Early diagnosis of asparaginase-associated pancreatitis based on elevated serum elastase-1 levels: Case reports.

L-asparaginase (L-asp) is a well-known anticancer agent used in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in children. However, it is also known to induce several acute complications, such as acute pancreatitis. This is a presentation of two pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cases of asparaginase-associated pancreatitis (AAP) diagnosed at an early stage based on elevated serum elastase-1 levels, in the presence of normal serum amylase levels.