Impact of prophylaxis with rituximab on EBV-related complications after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation in children.

Background: Children undergoing allo-HCT are at high risk of EBV-related complications. The objective of the study was to analyze the impact of prophylactic post-transplant rituximab on EBV infection and EBV-PTLD in children after allo-HCT, to determine the risk factors for the development of EBV infection and EBV-PTLD and to determine their outcomes. Additionally, the impact of EBV-driven complications on transplant outcomes was analyzed.

Therapy results in pediatric Hodgkin lymphoma - does less mean better? Experience from a single children's oncology center.

Therapy results in pediatric Hodgkin lymphoma reflect remarkable progress in pediatric oncology. In the last decade, relevant development of new therapeutic options for children with refractory or relapsed disease has been made. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed therapy results and risk factors in children treated in a single oncology center according to five therapeutic protocols.

Soluble Hemojuvelin and Ferritin: Potential Prognostic Markers in Pediatric Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation.

Objective: Iron overload (IO) is a common and life-threatening complication resulting from the therapy of AL and HCT patients. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of 12 serum biomarkers of iron metabolism in pediatric patients treated for AL or undergoing HCT.

Patients: Overall, 50 patients with AL after intensive treatment and 32 patients after HCT were prospectively included in the study.

Isolated central nervous system relapses in patients with high-risk neuroblastoma -clinical presentation and prognosis: experience of the Polish Paediatric Solid Tumours Study Group.

Although isolated central nervous system (CNS) relapses are rare, they may become a serious clinical problem in intensively treated patients with high-risk neuroblastoma (NBL). The aim of this study is the presentation and assessment of the incidence and clinical course of isolated CNS relapses. Retrospective analysis involved 848 NBL patients treated from 2001 to 2019 at 8 centres of the Polish Paediatric Solid Tumours Study Group (PPSTSG).

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in Children: Better Transplant Outcomes After Total Body Irradiation-based Conditioning.

Background/aim: Comparison of transplant outcomes in long-term follow-up of children after total body irradiation (TBI)- or chemotherapy-based conditioning allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT).

Patients And Methods: Patients undergoing allo-HCT for Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) conditioned either with TBI (n=55) or chemotherapy (n=84) were compared. The following transplant outcomes were analyzed: overall survival (OS), event-free survival (EFS), relapse incidence (RI), and graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD)-free-relapse-free survival (GRFS).

Unfavorable Outcome of Neuroblastoma in Patients With 2p Gain.

Amplification of the oncogene is the most unfavorable genetic factor in neuroblastoma patients. However, knowledge about the clinical impact of low-level multiplication of is still insufficient. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the disease course in patients with different copy number status of .

Outcome of Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: Sixty Years of Progress.

Background: A retrospective analysis was performed to investigate the survival outcomes in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) based on time period. We hypothesized that improvement has been obtained with the time-dependent therapeutic era and rise in the gross domestic product (GDP) and Human Development Index (HDI).

Materials And Methods: Data from 710 children who were treated for ALL between 1958 and 2018 at a single pediatric center were analyzed for probability of 5-year overall survival (pOS), event-free survival (pEFS) and relapse risk (pRR).

Solid Cancers in the Premature and the Newborn: Report of Three National Referral Centers.

Background: Advances in multidisciplinary care for pediatric cancer have resulted in significant improvement in cure rates over the last decades; however, these advances have not been uniform across all age groups. Cancer is an important cause of perinatal mortality, yet the full spectrum of malignant neoplasms in newborns is not well defined.

Methods: The authors have reviewed the clinical features and outcomes of 37 newborns with congenital malignant tumors treated at three referral centers in North, Central, and South Poland between 1980 and 2014.

Drug-resistance Profile in Multiple-relapsed Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Aim: To analyze the drug-resistance profile at first and subsequent relapse in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

Patients And Methods: A total of 154 pediatric ALL samples were tested for ex vivo chemosensitivity for up to 19 drugs. Their combined drug resistance profile (PVA score) was analyzed.

Ovarian function in female survivors after multimodal Ewing sarcoma therapy.

Background: With advances in cancer care, more young women with Ewing sarcoma (ES) survive after treatment. Thus, we sought to analyze the ovarian function in prepubertal, pubertal and postpubertal females and young women receiving multimodal therapy for ES, and to identify patients at risk of infertility on whom fertility preservation would be indicated.

Procedures: Twenty-seven female survivors of ES were included in this retrospective multiinstitutional study.

Internal hemipelvectomy in the management of pelvic Ewing sarcoma - are outcomes better than with radiation therapy?

Background: Pelvic Ewing sarcoma (ES) is commonly associated with a worse prognosis. Large size and location limit local control options to radiation therapy, and local recurrences are common. We evaluated the impact of hemipelvectomy and radiation on outcomes, including function.

Validation of a multi-modal treatment protocol for Ewing sarcoma--a report from the polish pediatric oncology group.

Background: Ewing sarcoma (ES) is the second most common paediatric malignant bone tumor. Advances in multi-disciplinary care have resulted in significant improvement in cure rates over the last decades. However, the generalization of those results in countries traditionally excluded from large cooperative trials has yet to be demonstrated.

Survival and prognostic factors in children with brain tumors: long-term follow-up single center study in Poland.

Aim: Analysis of risk factors for survival in long-term follow-up of children treated at a single pediatric center in Poland.

Patients And Methods: Out of 623 children diagnosed with cancer between 1995-2005, 110 were treated for brain tumors and followed-up, with a mean survival of 11.4 years.

[Chemotherapy in patients with refractory Ewing sarcoma].

Background: Patients with metastatic, progressive or recurrent Ewing sarcoma have a poor prognosis. In addition to increasing the intensity of conventional chemotherapy, the combination of irinotecan and temozolomide has been proposed as an effective salvage regimen for some pediatric malignancies.

Aim: To evaluate the effect of two different salvage regimens on the final outcome of patients with refractory Ewing sarcoma.

Vincristine, irinotecan, and temozolomide in patients with relapsed and refractory Ewing sarcoma.

Background: Patients with metastatic, progressive or recurrent Ewing sarcoma (ES) have a dismal outcome. The combination of irinotecan and temozolomide has been proposed as an effective salvage regimen for some pediatric malignancies. Thus, we sought to evaluate this combination with vincristine for patients with relapsed and refractory ES.

Individual tumor response testing in multiple relapsed acute myeloid leukemia in children.

Aim: The analysis of the individualized tumor response testing (ITRT) at first and subsequent relapse in children with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Patients And Methods: A total of 76 pediatric AML samples underwent ITRT for up to 21 drugs.

Results: No significant differences between ITRT at first and subsequent relapse were found, and no drug was found, for which significantly higher resistance of myeloblasts was observed at subsequent relapse, when compared to first relapse of AML.

Comparison of prognostic value of in vitro drug resistance and bone marrow residual disease on day 15 of therapy in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Aim: The analysis of the prognostic impact of residual disease at day 15 of induction therapy, individual tumor response testing (ITRT) at diagnosis, initial factors and initial therapy response to the risk of relapse in children with precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

Patients And Methods: A total of 87 children were tested at diagnosis for ITRT and for persistence of blasts in bone marrow at day 15 (BML15>0.5%) and were followed-up in long-term analysis.

Individualized tumor response testing profile has a prognostic value in childhood acute leukemias: multicenter non-interventional long-term follow-up study.

A total number of 817 children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and 181 with acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) were assessed for individualized tumor response testing (ITRT) profile as a prognostic factor in long-term follow-up. For each patient, ITRT, initial response to therapy and long-term outcome were assessed. In initial ALL, an impact on long-term response was shown in ITRT for 13 drugs, while in initial AML only for cytarabine.

Identification of the genes expression profile associated with the ex vivo resistance to etoposide in childhood acute leukemias.

Introduction: Drug resistance and the gene expression profiles might discriminate the therapy outcome, and indicate the subgroup of patients with poor prognosis. In this study we analyzed the gene expression profile in correlation with the profile of ex vivo resistance to etoposide in children with acute leukemias.

Methods: The ex vivo drug resistance profile was determined by the MTT cytotoxicity assay performed on leukemic blasts of 56 patients.

Expression profiles of signal transduction genes in ex vivo drug-resistant pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Aim: Identification of signal transduction genes related to drug resistance in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

Materials And Methods: Ex vivo drug resistance in 107 children, divided into study and validation groups, was determined by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazoliumbromide (MTT) drug resistance assay. The gene expression profile was identified by microarray analysis and validated by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction.

Gene expression signatures and ex vivo drug sensitivity profiles in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Introduction: Causes of treatment failure in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) are still poorly understood. Microarray technology gives new possibilities for the analysis of the biology of leukemias. We hypothesize that drug sensitivity in pediatric ALL is driven by specific molecular mechanisms that correlate with gene expression profiles assessed by microarray analysis.

Prognostic value of persistent peripheral blood and bone marrow lymphoblasts on day 15 of therapy in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia as detected by flow cytometry.

Aim: The predictive value of residual disease measured by flow cytometry at day 15 of induction therapy was analyzed in 182 children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

Materials And Methods: Peripheral blood (PB) and bone marrow were assessed for leukemia cells by morphology and flow cytometry at days 0, 8, and 15.

Results: Absolute blast count (ABC) >200/μl in PB by day 15 assessed by flow cytometry predicted a lower probability of disease free survival (pDFS) (p=0.

Differential ex vivo activity of bortezomib in newly diagnosed paediatric acute lymphoblastic and myeloblastic leukaemia.

The proteasome inhibitor, bortezomib, is known to be effective in the therapy of various neoplasms. The objective of this study was the analysis of the ex vivo activity of bortezomib in paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), in comparison to paediatric acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). A total of 159 patients entered the study, including 106 ALL (including 86 precursor-B-cell ALL, and 20 T-cell ALL) and 53 AML children.