Faster clinical decisions in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: A single flow cytometric 12-colour tube improves diagnosis and minimal residual disease follow-up.

Assessing minimal residual disease (MRD) in B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (BCP-ALL) is essential for adjusting therapeutic strategies and predicting relapse. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) is the gold standard for MRD. Alternatively, flow cytometry is a quicker and cost-effective method that typically uses leukaemia-associated immunophenotype (LAIP) or different-from-normal (DFN) approaches for MRD assessment.

Anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity on regional myocardial work and left ventricular mechanical dispersion in adolescents and young adults in post-lymphoma remission.

Background: Myocardial work (MW) is a new echocardiographic tool with a high sensitivity to detect early and subtle alterations of myocardial function. We aimed to evaluate the late effects of anthracyclines by assessing the global and segmental MW and intraventricular mechanical dispersion from speckle tracking echocardiography in childhood lymphoma survivors (CLS).

Methods: Thirty-one young adults including CLS and age-matched healthy controls were enrolled.

Fitness and metabolic response to exercise in young adult survivors of childhood lymphoma.

Purpose: Childhood lymphoma survivors (CLSs) are at high risk of reduced daily activity. This work studied metabolic substrate use and cardiorespiratory function in response to exercise in CLSs.

Methods: Twenty CLSs and 20 healthy adult controls matched for sex, age, and BMI took an incremental submaximal exercise test to determine fat/carbohydrate oxidation rates.

Pediatric multicellular tumor spheroid models illustrate a therapeutic potential by combining BH3 mimetics with Natural Killer (NK) cell-based immunotherapy.

The induction of apoptosis is a direct way to eliminate tumor cells and improve cancer therapy. Apoptosis is tightly controlled by the balance of pro- and antiapoptotic Bcl-2 proteins. BH3 mimetics neutralize the antiapoptotic function of Bcl-2 proteins and are highly promising compounds inducing apoptosis in several cancer entities including pediatric malignancies.

Assessment of the architecture and integrity of frozen-thawed testicular tissue from (pre)pubertal boys with cancer.

Background: Testicular tissue freezing is proposed for fertility preservation to (pre)pubertal boys with cancer before highly gonadotoxic treatment. Studies accurately comparing human (pre)pubertal testicular tissue quality before freezing and after thawing are exceptional. No study has reported this approach in a systematic manner and routine care.

Unleashing the power of NK cells in anticancer immunotherapy.

Due to their physiological role in removing damaged cells, natural killer (NK) cells represent ideal candidates for cellular immunotherapy in the treatment of cancer. Thereby, the cytotoxicity of NK cells is regulated by signals on both, the NK cells as well as the targeted tumor cells, and the interplay and balance of these signals determine the killing capacity of NK cells. One promising avenue in cancer treatment is therefore the combination of NK cell therapy with agents that either help to increase the killing capacity of NK cells or sensitize tumor cells to an NK cell-mediated attack.

Characterization and Manipulation of the Crosstalk Between Dendritic and Natural Killer Cells Within the Tumor Microenvironment.

Cellular therapy has entered the daily clinical life with the approval of CAR T cell therapeutics and dendritic cell (DCs) vaccines in the US and the EU. In addition, numerous other adoptive cellular products, including natural killer (NK) cells, are currently evaluated in early phase I/ II clinical trials for the treatment of cancer patients. Despite these promising accomplishments, various challenges remain to be mastered in order to ensure sustained therapeutic success.

Peripheral blood stem cell collection in children with extremely low body weight (≤8 kg). What have we learned over the past 25 years and where are the limits?

Hematopoietic progenitor cells-apheresis (HPC-A) collection is now a routine procedure for autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Here we present our 25 years' experience of HPC-A collection in children weighing 8 kg or less, with a focus on the evolution of our standard operating procedures, and the safety limits for these young patients, in the Pediatric Apheresis Unit of Clermont-Ferrand University Hospital (France). Fifteen children weighing 8 kg or less underwent 26 HPC-A collections over 25 years.

[Access to fertility preservation for adolescents and young adults aged 15 to 24 years with cancers in Auvergne, France].

Introduction: Cancers of adolescents and young adults have particular epidemiological specificities. The improvement in their survival should be accompanied by an increased consideration of the treatments' side effects, among which the potential decrease in fertility. The objective of the study was to describe the access to fertility preservation of these patients at the University Hospital of Clermont-Ferrand over a period of 3 years.

Childhood Leukemia Survivors and Metabolic Response to Exercise: A Pilot Controlled Study.

Background: Leukemia is the most common cancer in pediatrics, with many late effects such as higher risk of dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, obesity, and metabolic syndrome. The objective of this work was to investigate substrate oxidation during submaximal exercise in survivors of childhood acute leukemia.

Methods: A total of 20 leukemia survivors and 20 healthy children were matched by sex, age, and Tanner stage.

In vitro assessment of edoxaban anticoagulant effect in pediatric plasma.

Introduction: Anticoagulant therapy in pediatric patients remains an issue and safer therapies, such as direct oral anticoagulants could overcome the limitations of conventional anticoagulant treatments in this population. Edoxaban, a factor Xa inhibitor, is used for the prevention and treatment of venous thromboembolism. Due to its pharmacokinetic characteristics, edoxaban is a promising candidate molecule for children.

Very long-term molecular follow-up of minimal residual disease in patients with neuroblastoma.

In high-risk neuroblastoma (HR-NB), the clinical significance of long-term minimal residual disease (MRD) monitoring using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) for neuroblastoma mRNAs has not been investigated. We report long-term MRD follow-ups of four patients with HR-NB throughout the disease (diagnosis, remission, and relapse) and treatment course (chemotherapy, autologous and allogeneic stem cell transplantation, and donor lymphocyte and natural killer cell infusions). The results showed the stability of mRNA marker expression after different treatments and demonstrated their validity to predict relapse and assess therapeutic response.

[Fertility preservation in oncology].

Since the improvement of cancer diagnosis and treatment, survival rates of these patients increase. Gonadal damages are frequent consequences of cancer treatments with different evidence of impaired fertility. In this context, fertility preservation should be proposed to patients exposed to potentially gonadotoxic treatments.

RT-qPCR for mRNA is a highly specific and sensitive method to assess neuroblastoma minimal residual disease in testicular tissue.

Neuroblastoma (NB) is the most common type of extracranial solid tumor in children with a high prevalence in toddlers. For childhood cancer survivors, preservation of reproductive potential is an important factor for quality of life. The optimization of NB minimal residual disease (MRD) detection in testicular tissue is crucial to evaluate the risk of malignant cell reintroduction.

Cryopreservation of ovarian tissue in pediatric patients undergoing sterilizing chemotherapy.

Significantly improved survival rates in children and adolescents with cancer have put fertility preservation high on the pediatric oncology agenda. Here we report a retrospective single-center study of 13 years experience of ovarian tissue cryopreservation (OTC) before sterilizing treatment in order to define the safety/benefits of OTC and study clinical/hormonal outcomes in girls. From 2000 to 2013, OTC was performed in 36 girls: eight had non-malignant disease and 28 had malignant disease.

Leukapheresis in management of hyperleukocytosis in children's leukemias.

We describe 16 leukapheresis (LK) procedures performed in 7 children with different types of leukemia and hyperleukocytosis. We also provide an analysis of previously published experiences of pediatric LK. Median age and body weight of patients were 12.

An unusual clinical severity of 16p11.2 deletion syndrome caused by unmasked recessive mutation of CLN3.

With the introduction of array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) techniques in the diagnostic setting of patients with developmental delay and congenital malformations, many new microdeletion syndromes have been recognized. One of these recently recognized microdeletion syndromes is the 16p11.2 deletion syndrome, associated with variable clinical outcomes including developmental delay, autism spectrum disorder, epilepsy, and obesity, but also apparently normal phenotype.