The importance of age as prognostic factor for the outcome of patients with hepatoblastoma: Analysis from the Children's Hepatic tumors International Collaboration (CHIC) database.

Purpose: Treatment outcomes for hepatoblastoma have improved markedly in the contemporary treatment era, principally due to therapy intensification, with overall survival increasing from 35% in the 1970s to 90% at present. Unfortunately, these advancements are accompanied by an increased incidence of toxicities. A detailed analysis of age as a prognostic factor may support individualized risk-based therapy stratification.

Phosphorylation Modulates the Subcellular Localization of SOX11.

SOX11 is a key Transcription Factor (TF) in the regulation of embryonic and adult neurogenesis, whose mutation has recently been linked to an intellectual disability syndrome in humans. SOX11's transient activity during neurogenesis is critical to ensure the precise execution of the neurogenic program. Here, we report that SOX11 displays differential subcellular localizations during the course of neurogenesis.

The Children's Hepatic tumors International Collaboration (CHIC): Novel global rare tumor database yields new prognostic factors in hepatoblastoma and becomes a research model.

Introduction: Contemporary state-of-the-art management of cancer is increasingly defined by individualized treatment strategies. For very rare tumors, like hepatoblastoma, the development of biologic markers, and the identification of reliable prognostic risk factors for tailoring treatment, remains very challenging. The Children's Hepatic tumors International Collaboration (CHIC) is a novel international response to this challenge.

Treatment of hepatoblastoma in the German cooperative pediatric liver tumor studies.

Treatment with neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy together with tumor resection changed treatment strategies in hepatoblastoma and led to prospective cooperative studies. The treatment strategies and results of three German liver tumor studies HB89, HB94 and HB99 are reviewed. Here we provide an overview of the treatment of this tumor in the years 1989 to 2008 in Germany.

AFP negative cystic liver lesion in a child should let one think of hepatoblastoma.

AFP is still the most important serologic marker for the hepatoblastoma as the most common liver tumor in children. An AFP negative hepatoblastoma is rare. We present the first documented case of an infant with an AFP negative and cystic liver lesion later diagnosed as a fetal hepatoblastoma.

Tumor model for laparoscopy in pediatric oncology: subperitoneal inoculation of human hepatoblastoma cells in nude rats.

Background: Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for diagnostic or even ablative purposes in pediatric oncology is gradually evolving, but little is known about its biological consequences and surgical complications. Especially for hepatoblastoma (HB), no study on the influence of laparoscopy is available yet. A special tumor model could facilitate a variety of investigations.

Laparoscopic fluorescence diagnosis of peritoneal metastases from human hepatoblastoma in nude rats.

Aim: Fluorescence diagnosis is gaining clinical importance for the detection of malignancies in various medical disciplines. The technique relies on the specific metabolic capacity of a lesion to produce a fluorescent compound. It is still unknown whether pediatric solid tumors like hepatoblastoma (HB) are susceptible to this technique as well.

Videoscopic fluorescence diagnosis of peritoneal and thoracic metastases from human hepatoblastoma in nude rats.

Background: Various medical disciplines are employing photodynamic diagnosis (PDD) when searching for malignancies. It is still unknown whether pediatric solid tumors such as hepatoblastoma are susceptible to this technique as well.

Methods: Human hepatoblastoma cells were injected into the abdomen or right thoracic cavity of nude rats.

Diagnosis of acute haematogenous osteomyelitis and septic arthritis: 20 years experience at the University Children's Hospital Basel.

Objective: To review the diagnostic experience with acute haematogenous osteomyelitis (AHOM) and/or septic arthritis at our institution.

Methods: Retrospective review of the medical records of those patients with a bacteriologically and/or radiologically confirmed diagnosis, hospitalised in the University Children's Hospital Basel, Switzerland between January 1980 and July 2000.

Results: 90 patients (61% males), 4 weeks to 14 years of age, met the inclusion criteria.

Effect of sleep, spontaneous gastroesophageal reflux, and a meal on upper esophageal sphincter pressure in normal human volunteers.

Owing to the inherent difficulties of recording upper esophageal sphincter pressure, little is known about normal upper esophageal sphincter physiology. In this study we used a modified sleeve device to record upper esophageal sphincter pressure continuously in 8 normal volunteers. Intraesophageal pH and electroencephalogram activity were also recorded to document the occurrence of spontaneous gastroesophageal reflux and sleep.