Digital PCR-based quantification of miR-181a in the cerebrospinal fluid aids patient stratification in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Despite remarkable improvements in the survival of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), sensitive detection and clinical management of central nervous system leukemia (CNSL) are still immensely challenging. Blast cells residing in the CNS but not circulating in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) remain undetected by current diagnostic methods, preventing a truly risk-adapted anti-leukemic treatment in this compartment. We examined the clinical applicability of the molecular marker microRNA (miR)-181a quantified in the cell-free CSF to evaluate the level of CNS involvement and to optimize patient stratification based on CNS status.

The significance of CD49f expression in pediatric B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Objectives: CD49f is an adhesion molecule present on malignant lymphoblasts in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia; it is associated with a poor prognosis. CD49f expression has been proposed as a marker for measurable residual disease (MRD) marker, but this marker has yet to be implemented in clinical practice.

Methods: In this study, we used flow cytometry to detect CD49f expression by leukemic blasts in paired bone marrow and cerebrospinal fluid samples at diagnosis and bone marrow at day 15 of treatment.

The Impact of Qualification and Hospice Education on Staff Attitudes during Palliative Care in Pediatric Oncology Wards-A National Survey.

Background: Our knowledge about the attitudes of healthcare staff to palliative care in pediatric oncology is scarce. We aimed to assess their perceptions of palliative care in Hungary and find answers to the question of how to provide good palliative care for children.

Method: Physicians ( = 30) and nurses ( = 43) working in the field of pediatric oncology (12 of them specialized in hospice care) were interviewed.

PersonALL: a genetic scoring guide for personalized risk assessment in pediatric B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Background: Recurrent genetic lesions provide basis for risk assessment in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). However, current prognostic classifiers rely on a limited number of predefined sets of alterations.

Methods: Disease-relevant copy number aberrations (CNAs) were screened genome-wide in 260 children with B-cell precursor ALL.

Next-Generation Sequencing-Based Genomic Profiling of Children with Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

Pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML) represents a major cause of childhood leukemic mortality, with only a limited number of studies investigating the molecular landscape of the disease. Here, we present an integrative analysis of cytogenetic and molecular profiles of 75 patients with pediatric AML from a multicentric, real-world patient cohort treated according to AML Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster protocols. Targeted next-generation sequencing of 54 genes revealed 17 genes that were recurrently mutated in >5% of patients.

Clinical Course of COVID-19 Disease in Children Treated With Neoplastic Diseases in Hungary.

We report on children with cancer in Hungary suffering from COVID-19, surveying a 13-months-long period of time. We performed a retrospective clinical trial studying the medical documentation of children treated in seven centers of the Hungarian Pediatric Oncology-Hematology Group. About 10% of children admitted to tertiary hemato-oncological centers for anti-neoplastic treatment or diagnosis for malignancies were positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection.