Childhood cancers and systems medicine.

Despite major advances in treatment, pediatric cancers in the 5-16 age group remain the most common cause of disease death, and one out of eight children with cancer will not survive. Among children that do survive, some 60% suffer from late effects such as cancer recurrence and increased risk of obesity. This paper will provide a broad overview of pediatric oncology in the context of systems medicine.

Prevalence of abnormal bone density of pediatric patients prior to blood or marrow transplant.

Osteoporosis and osteopenia are long-term side effects of bone marrow transplant (BMT). The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of bone mineral density (BMD) abnormalities in pediatric patients prior to BMT. Forty-four pediatric patients were evaluated with DEXA scans.

Longitudinal evaluation of a pediatric palliative care educational workshop for oncology fellows.

Purpose: Health care providers have reported inadequate training, poor institutional support, and discomfort in managing pediatric end-of-life (EOL) issues. As a result, the transition to palliative care may be late and abrupt, and children may experience significant suffering at EOL. In this pilot study, we developed and longitudinally evaluated the efficacy of a pediatric palliative care workshop to enhance training for medical fellows.

Prolonged survival with continuous infusion topotecan: a report of 2 cases.

Two patients with solid tumors were treated with 21-day continuous infusion topotecan as palliation therapy. Case 1: A 10-year-old girl was diagnosed with progressive, metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma. Twenty-one-day continuous infusion topotecan was started and she has had a partial response.

Evaluation of a pediatric palliative care educational workshop for oncology fellows.

Background: Recent efforts have focused on improving pediatric palliative care to relieve physical and psychological suffering throughout the course of illness, as well as to improve care at the end-of-life (EOL). One area of attention has been medical training, as healthcare providers have often reported feeling ill-equipped to manage EOL issues. As a pilot study, we developed and evaluated a daylong educational workshop on pediatric palliative care for oncology fellows.

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the parotid gland as a second malignant neoplasm.

We report two second malignant neoplasms (SMNs) of the parotid gland. Patient 1 was initially diagnosed with precursor B-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma of the scalp. Eight years after her initial diagnosis she presented with a small, painless mass in the region of her parotid gland.