Osteosarcoma in patients with Rothmund-Thomson syndrome.

Background: Rothmund-Thomson syndrome (RTS) is associated with an increased risk of osteosarcoma, but information about affected patients is limited.

Procedure: Seven patients with osteosarcoma, treated in the Cooperative Osteosarcoma Study Group-trials, had a diagnosis of RTS. Their patient-, tumor- and treatment-related variables and outcome were reviewed retrospectively.

Kinetics of porphyrin fluorescence accumulation in pediatric brain tumor cells incubated in 5-aminolevulinic acid.

Background: Fluorescence-guided surgery with 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) enables more complete resections of tumors in adults. 5-ALA elicits accumulation of fluorescent porphyrins in various cancerous tissues, which can be visualized using a modified neurosurgical microscope with blue light. Although this technique is well established in adults, it has not been investigated systematically in pediatric brain tumors.

Dementia: treating patients and caregivers with complementary and alternative medicine--results of a clinical expert conference using the World Café method.

Background: In Germany the number of inhabitants with dementia is expected to increase from 1.2 million at present to 2.3 million in 2050.

Late graft failure in FA--case report and review of the literature.

Hematological disorders in patients with FA can only be cured by allogeneic HSCT. Severe infections in primary and early secondary graft failures pose a particular risk. Whereas most graft failures occur within 100 days, those observed after day +100 are infrequent.

Delay in B-lymphocyte recovery and function following rituximab for EBV-associated lymphoproliferative disease early post-allogeneic hematopoietic SCT.

Treatment with rituximab is highly effective for EBV-associated post transplant lymphoproliferative disease. However, little is known about its immunological sequelae in pediatric allogeneic hematopoietic SCT (HSCT). Time to normal CD19+ B-lymphocyte values in blood and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) substitution needed to maintain an IgG>400 mg per 100 ml in six consecutive pediatric allogeneic HSCT patients treated with rituximab for symptomatic EBV reactivation were compared with a matched cohort of non-rituximab-treated patients.