Characteristics of childhood cancer survivors attending a specialized survivorship clinic in the Deep South.

Purpose: Childhood cancer survivors carry a high burden of late-occurring treatment-related morbidity. Long-term risk-based anticipatory surveillance allows for early detection and management of complications. We sought to examine demographic, clinical, and social characteristics associated with survivorship clinic attendance at the Taking on Life after Cancer (TLC) Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Alabama.

Poverty and relapse risk in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a Children's Oncology Group study AALL03N1 report.

The association between individual-level poverty and relapse in children receiving maintenance treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) remains unclear. In a secondary analysis of COG-AALL03N1, we used data from US Census Bureau to categorize patients living below year-specific federal poverty thresholds, calculated using self-reported annual household income and size of household. Participants with federal poverty thresholds above 120% of their yearly household income were categorized as living in extreme poverty.

Outcomes of Infants and Young Children With Relapsed Medulloblastoma After Initial Craniospinal Irradiation-Sparing Approaches: An International Cohort Study.

Purpose: Infant and young childhood medulloblastoma (iMB) is usually treated without craniospinal irradiation (CSI) to avoid neurocognitive late effects. Unfortunately, many children relapse. The purpose of this study was to assess salvage strategies and prognostic features of patients with iMB who relapse after CSI-sparing therapy.

Body mass index during maintenance therapy and relapse risk in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia: A Children's Oncology Group report.

Background: Obesity at diagnosis of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is associated with greater risk of relapse; whether this association extends to obesity during maintenance is unstudied.

Methods: This study used data from AALL03N1 to calculate median body mass index (BMI) for 676 children over 6 consecutive months during maintenance therapy; BMI percentile (BMI%ile) were operationalized as normal/underweight (<85%ile), overweight/obese (85%-98%ile), and extreme obesity (≥99%ile). Hazard of relapse was estimated using multivariable proportional subdistributional hazards regression after adjusting for all relevant demographic and clinical predictors.

Persistent Child Poverty and Mortality in a Cohort of Children with Cancer in Alabama.

Background: One-fifth of U.S. counties are designated persistent child poverty counties (≥20% of children in poverty since 1980).

Individual prediction of nonadherence to oral mercaptopurine in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia: Results from COG AALL03N1.

Background: Poor mercaptopurine (6MP) adherence (mean adherence rate < 90%) increases the relapse risk among children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). 6MP adherence remains difficult to measure in real time. Easily measured patient-level factors could identify patients at risk for poor adherence.

Pediatric May-Thurner Syndrome-Systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis.

Background: The outcomes of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in children with May-Thurner Syndrome (MTS) remain unclear.

Objectives: This systematic review and patient-level meta-analysis aims to describe the outcomes of children with MTS presenting with DVT.

Methods: A systematic review of the published literature was performed.