Hyperleukocytosis in Pediatric Patients with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: Demographic and Clinical Characteristics.

: Hyperleukocytosis, defined as a total leukocyte count of more than 50,000/mm leukocytes, occurs in almost one in five children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). It represents an unfavorable prognostic factor in this disease. The aim of the following study was to describe demographic and clinical features in patients with hyperleukocytosis and their relationship with leukocyte count.

Nonspecific Gastrointestinal Symptoms as the First Sign of Ganglioneuroblastoma Intermixed-Case Report and Literature Review.

Nonspecific gastrointestinal symptoms remain a problem for pediatricians because, out of a thousand trivial cases, there are rare diseases that require in-depth diagnostics and extensive knowledge to identify them. These complaints may be caused by a neoplastic process. We present the case of a 5-year-old boy whose diagnostic pathway lasted about 3 months.

Nodular lymphocyte predominant Hodgkin lymphoma: Experience of Polish Pediatric Leukemia/Lymphoma Study Group.

Nodular Lymphocyte Predominant Hodgkin Lymphoma (NLPHL) is a rare clinical entity. To investigate NLPHL clinical course and treatment a survey was performed within Polish Pediatric Leukaemia/Lymphoma Study Group (PPLLSG) participating centers. A questionnaire was sent to all participating centers and analysis of clinical data was performed.

Salivary and serum concentrations of selected pro- and antiinflammatory cytokines in relation to oral lesions among children undergoing maintenance therapy of acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is the most common type of childhood cancer, accounting for about 23% of all cancers diagnosed in this age group. The last stage of radical treatment is remission maintenance, during which hospitalization is not necessary. The lesions occurring in the oral cavity caused by medications and chemotherapy may also be directly related to hematological and systemic disorders.

[Can children with Hodgkin's disease be treated with chemotherapy only?].

Currently over 90% of children and adolescents with Hodgkin's disease (HD) can be cured thanks to use of multidrug chemotherapy (CT) combined with involved-field radiotherapy (IF-RT). However, the intensive treatment may increase the risk of late complications which may impair the patients' quality of life. In order to decrease the incidence of late complications the protocol with limited use of IF-RT was introduced in centers of Polish Pediatric Leukemia/Lymphoma Study Group (PPLLSG).

[Clinical characteristics and therapy outcome in children with stage IV Hodgkin's lymphoma--the experience of two oncological centres].

Unlabelled: The cure rate in children with Hodgkin's disease (HD), at present time exceeds 90% but the prognosis in stage IV HD is much worse. THE AIM of the study was to analyze the initial symptoms, course and results of oncological therapy in children with stage IV of Hodgkin's disease.

Material And Methods: The analyzed group comprised of 15 patients with IV stage HD (M/F: 11/4, mean age: 12 years), treated from January 1993 to March 2005, in two Polish centres of paediatric oncology in Gdansk and Lublin.

CD40 stimulation induces differentiation of acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells into dendritic cells.

Unlabelled: Despite the very high percentage of long-term remissions in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in children, some of them suffer from recurrence of the disease. New treatment modalities, e.g.

Lower expression of mRNA for interferon-gamma in T helper cells of children with newly diagnosed lymphomas.

The complex interactions between cancer and host cells are far from being fully elucidated. Assessment of Th1/Th2/Th3/Tr1 balance is an interesting approach to explain immunological disturbances in lymphomas. The aim of our study was to assess mRNA for pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in T-cells in 20 children with Hodgkin- and non-Hodgkin lymphomas.

[Second neoplasm in a 13-year-old boy complicated by Crohn's disease. Case report].

Unlabelled: Genetic abnormalities and immune system disorders resulting from them are the causes of neoplastic diseases as well as inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn's disease. However, the rearrangement of genes may not only be the cause of neoplasms but also the result of oncolytic treatment used. One of the late treatment-related complications of neoplastic diseases is the development of a second neoplasm and possible disorders belonging to the group of inflammatory bowel diseases, for example Crohn's disease.

[Diagnostic and therapeutic management of essential thrombocythemia in children].

Background: Essential thrombocythemia is a myeloproliferative disease resulting from the clonal proliferation of a multipotent myeloid stem cell with an increased platelet count in peripheral blood. In 2% of cases the cause remains unknown. It is then called idiopathic essential thrombocythemia.

[Th1/Th2 balance in acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children].

Analysis of T lymphocytes cytokine profiles allows to differ subpopulations: Th1, Th2, Th3, Tr1. Aim of the study was to assess Th1/Th2 balance in acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children at diagnosis and during/after remission induction, especially during infections. Percentages of lymphocytes T producing IFN-gamma and IL-4 were assessed by flow cytometry.

[Costimulatory and activation molecules of lymphocytes T in acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children].

Unlabelled: In the last years one rises importance of costimulatory molecules in immune response in leukemias. Aim of the study was to assess lymphocytes T function in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia during remission induction on the grounds of chosen costimulatory and activatory molecules expression. To assess percentages of lymphocytes subpopulations we used tricolor flow cytometry.

Monocytes in children with leukemias and lymphomas -- down-regulation of HLA and costimulatory molecules.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the function of monocytes in children with leukemias and lymphomas based on the expression of critical costimulatory, activatory and adhesion molecules (CD80, CD86, HLA-DR and CD54 = ICAM-1), estimated with tricolor flow cytometry. In comparison to the control group we found a lower percentage of monocytes with costimulatory molecules (CD80 before and CD86 after lipopolysaccharide stimulation) at the time of diagnosis and of monocytes with HLA-DR molecules after remission induction. We also noted a lower percentage of monocytes with HLA-DR expression in the group with severe or therapy resistant infections.