Publications by authors named "Lisa Diller"

Article Synopsis
  • Carriers of BRCA1/2 pathogenic variants were studied to determine their risk of developing cancers during childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood (CAYA).
  • Analysis of data from over 47,000 individuals revealed that while young women with BRCA1/2 mutations had a significantly increased risk of breast cancer in their 20s, no increased risk was found for other types of CAYA cancers.
  • The study concluded that there's little evidence to support routine genetic testing for children of BRCA1/2 carriers or for young cancer patients, as the overall cancer risk appears low aside from breast cancer in young women.
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Wilms tumors are commonly associated with predisposition syndromes. Many of these syndromes are associated with specific phenotypic features and are discussed in the related article from the AACR Pediatric Cancer Working Group. Guidelines for surveillance in this population were published in 2017, but since then several studies have identified new genes with recurrent pathogenic variants associated with increased risk for Wilms tumor development.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Wilms tumors are linked to various predisposition syndromes, many of which involve overgrowth and an increased risk for other cancers like hepatoblastoma.
  • - In 2017, surveillance guidelines for patients at risk for Wilms tumors were established, and the AACR Pediatric Cancer Working Group recently updated these guidelines based on new research and risk data.
  • - The update aims to inform healthcare professionals—including pediatric oncologists and geneticists—about revised diagnostic criteria and to standardize surveillance recommendations in North America and Australia for patients with relevant syndromes.
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Background: Prognosis for patients with high-risk neuroblastoma (HR-NBL) is guarded despite aggressive therapy, and few studies have characterized outcomes after radiotherapy in relation to radiation treatment fields.

Methods: Multi-institutional retrospective cohort of 293 patients with HR-NBL who received autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) and EBRT between 1997-2021. LRR was defined as recurrence at the primary site or within one nodal echelon beyond disease present at diagnosis.

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Genetic predisposition to neuroblastoma (NB) is relatively rare. Only 1% to 2% of patients have a family history of NB, 3% to 4% of cases present with bilateral or multifocal primary tumors, and occasional patients have syndromes that are associated with increased NB risk. Previously, a germline pathogenic variant (GPV) in PHOX2B was associated with Hirschsprung disease and congenital central hypoventilation syndrome.

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Purpose: To identify sociodemographic factors associated with the visual outcomes of retinoblastoma survivors.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study using a US-based clinical data registry. All individuals < 18 years of age with a history of retinoblastoma in the Intelligent Research in Sight (IRIS®) Registry (1/1/2013-12/31/2020).

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Background: Early efforts at risk-adapted therapy for neuroblastoma are predicted to result in differential late effects; the magnitude of these differences has not been well described.

Methods: Late mortality, subsequent malignant neoplasms (SMNs), and severe/life-threatening chronic health conditions (CHCs), graded according to CTCAE v4.03, were assessed among 5-year Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS) survivors of neuroblastoma diagnosed 1987-1999.

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Purpose: We sought to present the current status of survivorship programs at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute which include the David B. Perini, Jr. Quality of Life Clinic for survivors of childhood cancer, Stop and Shop Neuro-Oncology Outcomes Clinic for pediatric brain tumor survivors, and Adult Survivorship Program for adult cancer survivors including those diagnosed as adults (age 18 years and older) and adult survivors of childhood cancer, in an effort to share best practices as well as challenges.

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Background: Children treated with stem cell transplant (SCT) are routinely hospitalized for long periods where they are exposed to significant sleep and circadian disruptions. As nurses play a primary role in symptom management during SCT, we sought to understand their perspective on patient sleep and circadian disruptions, perceived barriers to a good sleep and circadian environment, and suggestions for improvement.

Procedure: Four focus groups were conducted with pediatric SCT nurses (N = 25 participants).

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Background: Many parents of children with advanced cancer report curative goals and continue intensive therapies that can compound symptoms and suffering. Factors that influence parents to choose palliation as the primary treatment goal are not well understood. The objective of this study was to examine experiences impacting parents' report of palliative goals adjusted for time.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study looks at female survivors of childhood cancer and how their past treatments affect their chances of having babies using assisted reproductive technology (ART).
  • Among the nearly 10,000 survivors, a small number tried ART, and their chances of having a baby were similar to their siblings.
  • The treatments that had the biggest negative impact on having babies were cranial and pelvic radiation therapy, but the use of certain cancer drugs didn’t seem to change the chances that much.
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Background: Despite survival improvements, there is a paucity of data on neurocognitive outcomes in neuroblastoma survivors. This study addresses this literature gap.

Methods: Neurocognitive impairments in survivors were compared to sibling controls from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS) using the CCSS Neurocognitive Questionnaire.

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Article Synopsis
  • Diagnostic mIBG scans are essential for assessing treatment response in children with high-risk neuroblastoma, specifically analyzing the importance of Curie scores (CS) during tandem high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) and autologous hematopoietic cell transplant (AHCT) in the COG study ANBL0532.
  • A retrospective analysis found that the optimal CS cut points at diagnosis (CS = 12) and end-of-induction (CS = 0) significantly predicted better event-free survival (EFS), with respective survival rates of 74.2% and 72.9% for patients with lower scores compared to those above these cut-offs.
  • Ultimately, these findings suggest that monitoring CS at diagnosis and end-of-induction
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Background: Multimodal cancer therapy places childhood cancer survivors at increased risk for chronic health conditions, subsequent malignancies, and premature mortality as they age. We aimed to estimate the cumulative burden of late (>5 years from cancer diagnosis), major surgical interventions among childhood cancer survivors, compared with their siblings, and to examine associations between specific childhood cancer treatments and the burden of late surgical interventions.

Methods: We analysed data from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS), a retrospective cohort study with longitudinal prospective follow-up of 5-year survivors of childhood cancer (diagnosed before age 21 years) treated at 31 institutions in the USA, with a comparison group of nearest-age siblings of survivors selected by simple random sampling.

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Purpose: To describe the risk of late mortality, subsequent malignant neoplasms (SMNs), and chronic health conditions (CHCs) in survivors of neuroblastoma diagnosed in infancy by treatment era and exposures.

Methods: Among 5-year survivors of neuroblastoma in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study diagnosed age < 1 year between 1970 and 1999, we examined the cumulative incidence of late (> 5 years from diagnosis) mortality, SMN, and CHCs (grades 2-5 and 3-5). Multivariable Cox regression models estimated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs by decade and treatment (surgery-alone chemotherapy with or without surgery [C ± S] radiation with or without chemotherapy ± surgery [R ± C ± S]) among survivors and between survivors and 5,051 siblings.

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Importance: Breast cancer is the most common invasive subsequent malignant disease in childhood cancer survivors, though limited data exist on changes in breast cancer rates as primary cancer treatments have evolved.

Objective: To quantify the association between temporal changes in cancer treatment over 3 decades and subsequent breast cancer risk.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Retrospective cohort study of 5-year cancer survivors diagnosed when younger than 21 years between 1970 and 1999, with follow-up through December 5, 2020.

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Germline pathogenic variants in cancer susceptibility genes are identified in up to 18% of all children with cancer. Because pediatric cancer predisposition syndromes (CPS) themselves are rare and underrecognized, there are limited data to guide the diagnosis and management of affected children and at-risk relatives. Furthermore, the care of affected children requires distinct considerations given the early onset of cancers, lifelong risks of additional cancers, and potential late effects of therapy.

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Children and adolescents diagnosed with cancer can now expect an average 85% 5-year overall survival, with significant improvements in longer-term morbidity and mortality reported over the past several decades. However, the long-term impact of therapeutic agents and modalities introduced in recent years remains unclear and will require dedicated follow-up in the years ahead. The Children's Oncology Group (COG), a part of the NCI's National Clinical Trials Network, with over 200 sites across North America and beyond, enrolls more than 10,000 patients onto research protocols annually, inclusive of first-line clinical trials and nontherapeutic studies.

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Purpose: The utility of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) analyses has not been established in the risk stratification of Wilms tumor (WT). We evaluated the detection of ctDNA and selected risk markers in the serum and urine of patients with WT and compared findings with those of matched diagnostic tumor samples.

Patients And Methods: Fifty of 395 children with stage III or IV WT enrolled on Children's Oncology Group trial AREN0533 had banked pretreatment serum, urine, and tumor available.

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Purpose: We sought to determine whether the detection of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in samples of patients undergoing chemotherapy for advanced leiomyosarcoma (LMS) is associated with objective response or survival.

Experimental Design: Using ultra-low-passage whole-genome sequencing (ULP-WGS) of plasma cell-free DNA from patients treated on a prospective clinical trial, we tested whether detection of ctDNA evaluated prior to the start of therapy and after two cycles of chemotherapy was associated with treatment response and outcome. Associations between detection of ctDNA and pathologic measures of disease burden were evaluated.

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Background: Identification of children and infants with Li-Fraumeni syndrome prompts tumor surveillance and allows potential early cancer detection. We assessed the clinical benefits and cost-effectiveness of population-wide newborn screening for TP53 variants (TP53-NBS).

Methods: We simulated the impact of TP53-NBS using data regarding TP53-associated pediatric cancers and pathogenic or likely pathogenic (P/LP) TP53 variants from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results; ClinVar and gnomAD; and clinical studies.

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