Long-term follow-up results of cytarabine-containing chemotherapy for acute promyelocytic leukemia.

Background/aims: We evaluated the feasibility and long-term efficacy of the combination of cytarabine, idarubicin, and all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) for treating patients with newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL).

Methods: We included 87 patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia and a t(15;17) or promyelocytic leukemia/retinoic acid receptor alpha (PML-RARα) mutation. Patients received 12 mg/m2/day idarubicin intravenously for 3 days and 100 mg/m2/day cytarabine for 7 days, plus 45 mg/m2/day ATRA.

The outcome of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in Korean children with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis.

Chemoimmunotherapy-based treatments have improved the survival of patients with HLH, but outcomes of the patients are still unsatisfactory. We report here the outcome of Korean children with HLH who underwent HSCT, which was analyzed from the data of a nation-wide HLH registry. Retrospective nation-wide data recruitment for the pediatric HLH patients diagnosed between 1996 and 2008 was carried out by the Histiocytosis Working Party of the Korean Society of Hematology.

Successful treatment of retroperitoneal infantile hemangioendothelioma with Kasabach-Merritt syndrome using steroid, alpha-interferon, and vincristine.

Infantile hemangioendothelioma (IHE) is a rare benign vascular tumor with potentially life-threatening complications. Various therapeutic options have been recommended according to the site, extent, and behavior of the IHE. Because of the slow and unpredictable response to treatment with using a single drug in critically ill patients, there is a tendency to administer drugs in combination to treat this disease.

Unrelated hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for children with acute leukemia: experience at a single institution.

We evaluate the outcomes in children with acute leukemia who received allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) using unrelated donor. Fifty-six children in complete remission (CR) received HCT from unrelated donors between 2000 and 2007. Thirty-five had acute myeloid leukemia, and 21 had acute lymphoid leukemia.

Cytomegalovirus infection in children who underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation at a single center: a retrospective study of the risk factors.

CMV infection is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality after HSCT. The aim of this single center retrospective study was to analyze risk factors for CMV infection in pediatric patients who underwent HSCT. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 117 pediatric patients who underwent allogeneic HSCT at Asan Medical Center between December 2000 and January 2007.

Relationship between in vitro chemosensitivity assessed with MTT assay and clinical outcomes in 103 patients with acute leukemia.

Background: Cellular drug resistance is supposed to play a major role in chemotherapy failure or relapse. The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between in vitro chemosensitivity test results using a 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and clinical response on chemotherapy, and to find the possibility of optimizing the treatment protocol for individual patients according to their actual drug resistance.

Methods: For MTT assay, we obtained bone marrow aspirates from 103 patients with acute leukemia at the time of initial diagnosis or relapse.

Lymphomas of the head and neck in the pediatric population.

Objective: Little is known about the incidence and survival outcomes of pediatric patients with head and neck (HN) lymphomas in Asian populations. This study sought to identify the incidence of HN involvement of pediatric lymphomas and to identify factors prognostic of patient survival.

Methods: We reviewed the medical records of all children aged 0-14 years with previously untreated lymphomas of HN region and compared patient clinicopathologic characteristics and final outcomes in patients with Hodgkin's disease (HD) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL).

Prophylactic low-dose heparin or prostaglandin E1 may prevent severe veno-occlusive disease of the liver after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in Korean children.

Studies investigating the effect of prophylactic drugs on hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD) development are rare in children that have undergone allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). This study examined risk factors for VOD, the effect of prophylactic low-dose heparin or lipo-prostaglandin E1 (lipo-PGE1) and the survival rate at day +100 in children undergoing allogeneic HSCT. Eighty five children underwent HSCT between June 1997 and September 2004.

Whole-body MRI of Langerhans cell histiocytosis: comparison with radiography and bone scintigraphy.

Background: In Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) evaluation of the extent of disease is one of the major predictors of patient outcome. Historically this is undertaken using plain radiography and bone scintigraphy. Recently, whole-body (WB) MRI has been reported to be useful in detecting skeletal and extraskeletal metastases in both adults and children.

Prognostic significance of multidrug resistance gene 1 (MDR1), multidrug resistance-related protein (MRP) and lung resistance protein (LRP) mRNA expression in acute leukemia.

The prognostic significance of multidrug resistance (MDR) gene expression is controversial. We investigated whether multidrug resistance gene 1 (MDR1), multidrug resistance-related protein (MRP) and lung resistance protein (LRP) mRNA expression are associated with outcomes in acute leukemia patients. At diagnosis we examined MDR1, MRP and LRP mRNA expression in bone marrow samples from 71 acute leukemia patients (39 myeloid, 32 lymphoblastic) using nested RT-PCR.

Recombinant urate oxidase (Rasburicase) for the treatment of hyperuricemia in pediatric patients with hematologic malignancies: Results of a compassionate prospective multicenter study in Korea.

Background: Hyperuricemia accompanying tumor lysis syndrome is a serious complication in neoplasia with rapid proliferation and destruction. To confirm the efficacy of recombinant urate oxidase (rasburicase) and its safety profile, a phase IV compassionate use prospective study was performed in Korean pediatric patients with hematologic malignancies.

Procedure: Rasburicase was administered at 0.

Whole-body MRI of paediatric malignant tumours: comparison with conventional oncological imaging methods.

Purpose: To evaluate the usefulness of whole-body (WB) MRI for detecting metastases from paediatric malignant tumours in comparison with conventional oncological imaging methods.

Materials And Methods: Using a 1.5-T system, a coronal short tau inversion recovery (STIR) sequence was obtained in all patients.

Autologous stem cell transplantation for the treatment of neuroblastoma in Korea.

Autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) for the treatment of high-risk neuroblastoma (NBL) is an accepted method for restoring bone marrow depression after high dose chemotherapy. We retrospectively analyzed eighty eight cases of NBL that underwent ASCT following marrow ablative therapy at 12 transplant centers of the Korean Society of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology between January 1996 and September 2000. Seventy nine children were of stage IV NBL and 9 were of stage III with N-myc amplification.