Purpose: Caregivers in pediatric oncology need accurate and understandable information about their child's condition, treatment, and side effects. This study assesses the performance of publicly accessible large language model (LLM)-supported tools in providing valuable and reliable information to caregivers of children with cancer.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated the performance of the four LLM-supported tools-ChatGPT (GPT-4), Google Bard (Gemini Pro), Microsoft Bing Chat, and Google SGE-against a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) derived from the Children's Oncology Group Family Handbook and expert input (In total, 26 FAQs and 104 generated responses).
Brown fat can present challenges in patients with cancer who undergo F-FDG PET scans. Uptake of F-FDG by brown fat can obscure or appear similar to active oncologic lesions, causing clinical challenges in PET interpretation. Small, retrospective studies have reported environmental and pharmacologic interventions for suppressing brown fat uptake on PET; however, there is no clear consensus on best practices.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurrent studies describing younger children with Hodgkin lymphoma are limited by geographical region, small sample sizes and variable age groups. Although published data is lacking, there appears to be a trend toward a higher male to female ratio and a higher proportion of mixed cellularity subtype when compared to older cohorts. We performed a retrospective multicenter study utilizing the Pediatric Health Information System® database to evaluate patients aged 0-39 years with Hodgkin lymphoma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) imaging can detect changes in arterial inflammation, but has not been used to evaluate chemotherapy-induced venous inflammation or assess risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE) in pediatric oncology. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT imaging of venous inflammation for predicting VTE occurrence in the 12 months after lymphoma diagnosis in pediatric, adolescent, and young adult patients.
Methods: Pediatric, adolescent, and young adult patients with lymphoma diagnoses (n=71) who underwent whole-body PET/CT imaging at initial staging of disease and first therapeutic follow-up were retrospectively evaluated for serial changes in lower extremity venous uptake of fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose.
Objectives: The objective of this study was to translate a deep learning (DL) approach for semiautomated analysis of body composition (BC) measures from standard of care CT images to investigate the prognostic value of BC in pediatric, adolescent, and young adult (AYA) patients with lymphoma.
Methods: This 10-year retrospective, single-site study of 110 pediatric and AYA patients with lymphoma involved manual segmentation of fat and muscle tissue from 260 CT imaging datasets obtained as part of routine imaging at initial staging and first therapeutic follow-up. A DL model was trained to perform semiautomated image segmentation of adipose and muscle tissue.
Background: Approximately 10% of pediatric malignancies are secondary to germline alterations in cancer-predisposing genes. Checkpoint kinase 2 () germline loss-of-function variants have been reported in pediatric cancer patients, but clinical phenotypes and outcomes are poorly described. We present our single-institution experience of pediatric oncology patients with germline alterations, including clinical presentations and outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) for Pediatric Aggressive Mature B-Cell Lymphomas include recommendations for the diagnosis and management of pediatric patients with primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBL) and sporadic variants of Burkitt lymphoma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. PMBL is now considered as a distinct entity arising from mature thymic B-cells accounting for 2% of mature B-cell lymphomas in children and adolescents. This discussion section includes the recommendations outlined in the NCCN Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of pediatric patients with PMBL.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: The objective of this study was to use computed tomography (CT) imaging to quantify chemotherapy-induced changes in body composition (BC) in pediatric, adolescent, and young adult (AYA) patients with lymphoma and to compare image-derived changes in BC measures to changes in traditional body mass index (BMI) measures.
Methods: Skeletal muscle (SkM), subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) volumes were manually segmented using low-dose CT images acquired from a 10-year retrospective, single-site cohort of 110 patients with lymphoma. CT images and BMI percentiles (BMI%) were acquired from baseline and first therapeutic follow-up.
Fertility navigators (FNs) are important in communicating infertility risk and fertility preservation (FP) options to patients receiving gonadotoxic therapies. This retrospective study examined electronic medical records of patients with fertility consults at a large pediatric institution (2017-2019), before and after hiring a full-time FN. Of 738 patient encounters, 173 consults were performed pre-navigator and 565 post-navigator.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Approximately half of male childhood cancer survivors experience impaired fertility, yet fertility preservation (FP) remains underutilized. Although parent recommendation influences adolescents' decision-making, parents may be uncertain and/or underrate their sons' parenthood goals. This study assessed parent-adolescent and family-level concordance regarding adolescent fertility perspectives (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the context of an evolving understanding of early T-cell precursor (ETP) lymphoma and leukemia, we present a case of concurrent T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma and ETP lymphoma in an adolescent female. To our knowledge, this represents the first reported case of both lymphoblastic lymphoma and ETP lymphoma as distinct and conjoined components of the same neoplasm. As an exception to current literature, our patient had a strictly lymphomatous ETP component with no leukemic manifestation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHalf of male childhood cancer survivors experience treatment-related fertility impairment, which can lead to distress. Survivors often regret forgoing fertility preservation (FP), and decisional dissatisfaction is associated with a lower quality of life. This mixed methods study examined short-term FP decisional satisfaction among families of male adolescents newly diagnosed with cancer who received an initial fertility consult and completed an FP values clarification tool.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMethotrexate-induced epidermal necrosis (MEN) is an uncommon but potentially fatal complication. We present two pediatric oncology patients, a 5-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy, who developed MEN from high-dose methotrexate therapy for pre-B-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia. Following administration of systemic methotrexate, the patients developed erythematous lesions with subsequent skin erosions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPeripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) is an aggressive tumor, rarely seen in pediatrics or adolescent and young adults (AYAs) so there is no upfront or relapsed standard of care. The authors describe a 16-year-old with PTCL, treated with chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplant. Upon relapse, he received ifosfamide, carboplatin, etoposide, and radiation with durable remission of 4 years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Over half of males experience fertility impairment after childhood cancer therapy, which often causes psychosocial distress. Yet, fertility preservation (FP) remains underutilized. The goals of this study were to determine the feasibility and impact of implementing a family-centered FP values clarification tool on sperm banking attempts among adolescent males newly diagnosed with cancer, and identify key determinants of banking attempts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMedication adherence research involving adolescent and young adult (AYA) oncology patients has consisted of small, retrospective studies demonstrating poor adherence rates. Technology plays an active role in attempt to improve medication adherence. There is a growing body of literature investigating the role of smartphone applications (apps).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPediatric aggressive mature B-cell lymphomas are the most common types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in children, and they include Burkitt lymphoma (BL) and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). These diseases are highly aggressive but curable, the treatment is complex, and patients may have many complicated supportive care issues. The NCCN Guidelines for Pediatric Aggressive Mature B-Cell Lymphomas provide guidance regarding pathology and diagnosis, staging, initial treatment, disease reassessment, surveillance, therapy for relapsed/refractory disease, and supportive care for clinicians who treat sporadic pediatric BL and DLBCL.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEwing sarcoma (EWS) is the second most common and aggressive type of metastatic bone tumor in adolescents and young adults. There is unmet medical need to develop and test novel pharmacological targets and novel therapies to treat EWS. Here, we found that EWS expresses high levels of a p53 isoform, delta133p53.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAs survival rates for adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer patients improve, fertility preservation has gained increased attention. Many AYAs report significant concerns about fertility potential after therapy. Preservation at diagnosis may be the only opportunity for future genetic parenthood for many patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Over half of male childhood cancer survivors experience infertility after treatment, which is known to cause distress and impact future quality of life. Sperm banking rates remain low, and little is known about how adolescent and young adult (AYA) males and their families make fertility preservation (FP) decisions. This study examined AYA and parent perceptions of participating in a research study focused on testing a new FP decision tool at the time of cancer diagnosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Research among adults shows benefits and low perceived burden of engaging in behavioral research. However, questions remain regarding the ethics of conducting behavioral research in pediatric populations during sensitive situations, including during a new life-threatening diagnosis or at end-of-life. We examined reactions to participating in a behavioral reproductive research study among male adolescents newly diagnosed with cancer and their parents, as a step towards optimizing fertility preservation utilization in a population where future infertility is common.
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