[Megachemotherapy and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in children with solid tumours excluding neuroblastoma--experience of Polish paediatric centres].

Unlabelled: AIM OF THE STUDY was to present the experience of four Polish transplantation centres (Wroclaw, Bydgoszcz, Kraków and Lublin) with use of megachemotherapy (MCT) and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (autoHSCT) in children with high risk solid tumours.

Patients And Methods: Between 1994 and 2005 in 67 patients, whose age ranged form 1.5 to 20 years, 74 procedures of megachemotherapy and auto HSCT were performed.

[High-dose therapy followed by auto HSCT in children--with advanced neuroblastoma in four transplant centres in Poland].

Aim Of The Study: Posttransplant morbidity and clinical outcome in children with advanced neuroblastoma (NBL) who underwent megachemotherapy followed by HSCT were investigated.

Patients And Methods: In the study 73 children with advanced NBL treated in four Departments of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology in Lublin, Kraków, Wrocław and Bydgoszcz from 1995 to 2004 were analysed. Median age of children was 4.

[Analysis of microvascular density and the expression of vascular-endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its membrane receptor Flk-1 in neuroblastoma].

Aim: To assess selected angiogenic markers; microvascular density and the expression of VEGF and Flk-1 in relation to clinical features and morphologic types of neuroblastoma.

Patients And Methods: Eighty-two children with neuroblastoma were studied. Morphological assessment was performed in paraffin embedded tissues of the primary tumours.

Immune reconstitution after haematopoietic cell transplantation in children: immunophenotype analysis with regard to factors affecting the speed of recovery.

Immune reconstitution was studied prospectively in 66 children who underwent 77 haematopoietic cell transplantations (HCT): 46 autologous HCTs in 39 patients and 31 allogeneic HCTs in 27 patients. We studied the dynamic analysis of immune recovery with regard to potential factors affecting its speed, including age, type of HCT, diagnosis, graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection reactivation. Absolute counts of different lymphocyte subsets and immunoglobulin serum levels were determined in peripheral blood of patients on d -7 and +16, and then at various intervals up to 24 months post transplant.