Survival of Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia with Risk Group-Based Protocol Changes: A Single Center Experience with 460 Patients over a 20-Year Period.

Purpose: Recent treatments for pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) are founded on risk stratification. We examined the survival rates and prognostic factors of patients over a 20-year period at a single institution.

Materials And Methods: This study analyzed patients diagnosed with ALL and treated at the Pediatric Department of Samsung Medical Center (SMC).

The Effect of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation on Treatment Outcome in Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Purpose: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) has been an important method of treatment in the advance of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The indications for HSCT are evolving and require updated establishment. In this study, we aimed to investigate the efficacy of HSCT on the treatment outcome of pediatric ALL, considering the indications for HSCT and subgroups.

Identification of potential biomarkers related to mesenchymal stem cell response in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Preclinical studies showed that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) ameliorate tau phosphorylation, amyloid-beta accumulation, and inflammation in Alzheimer's disease (AD) mouse models via secretion of neurotrophic factors and cytokines. We aimed to identify CSF biomarkers that can be used to predict or monitor the response to MSCs in patients with AD.

Methods: AD patients were injected with human umbilical cord blood-MSCs (n = 22) or placebo (n = 12).

Immunosuppressant Drugs Mitigate Immune Responses Generated by Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Transplanted into the Mouse Parenchyma.

It has been widely accepted that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can evade the immune surveillance of the recipient. However, emerging research cast doubt on whether MSCs are intrinsically immune-privileged. Previously, we observed that the transplantation of human MSCs (hMSCs) into the mouse parenchyma attracted a high infiltration of leukocytes into the injection tract.

Abnormal iron status is independently associated with reduced oscillometric lung function in schoolchildren.

Background: Associations between anemia and allergic diseases have been reported, but the relationship of iron deficiency with airway dysfunction in children remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the relationship between abnormal iron parameters and lung function in schoolchildren.

Methods: Four hundred and forty-five children (10-12 years-old) from 11 elementary schools in were enrolled.

Ethionamide Preconditioning Enhances the Proliferation and Migration of Human Wharton's Jelly-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a useful source for cell-based therapy of a variety of immune-mediated diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders. However, poor migration ability and survival rate of MSCs after brain transplantation hinder the therapeutic effects in the disease microenvironment. Therefore, we attempted to use a preconditioning strategy with pharmacological agents to improve the cell proliferation and migration of MSCs.

Cefepime Versus Cefepime Plus Amikacin as an Initial Antibiotic Choice for Pediatric Cancer Patients With Febrile Neutropenia in an Era of Increasing Cefepime Resistance.

Background: We investigated the treatment outcomes before and after the addition of amikacin to cefepime monotherapy as an initial empirical antibiotic treatment in pediatric cancer patients with febrile neutropenia.

Methods: This was a retrospective historical cohort study. The subjects were pediatric cancer patients who visited the emergency room at the Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Korea, due to chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia, between January 2011 and December 2016.

Bochdalek hernia with Diamond-Blackfan anemia associated with RPS19 gene mutation: A case report.

Rationale: Diamond-Blackfan anemia (DBA) is a rare inherited marrow disorder, characterized by erythrocyte aplasia and is associated with congenital anomalies and a susceptibility to cancer. Although congenital abnormalities have been observed in ∼50% of DBA patients, the occurrence of an associated congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) has rarely been reported.

Patient Concerns: A 19-month-old male child was referred to our pediatric hematology-oncology outpatient clinic with anemic appearance.

Changes in hepatitis B antibody status after chemotherapy in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Background: Children with cancer may be at an increased risk of infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) when levels of hepatitis B antibodies are reduced owing to chemotherapy-induced immunosuppression. This study evaluated the changes in HBV antibody status and HBV infections after chemotherapy in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

Procedure: The data of patients with ALL diagnosed between April 2007 and March 2013 were retrospectively collected.

SERPINB2 Is a Novel Indicator of Cancer Stem Cell Tumorigenicity in Multiple Cancer Types.

Drug resistance is one of the major characteristics of cancer stem cells (CSCs) and a mechanism of tumor recurrence. Therefore, selectively targeting CSCs may be an effective therapeutic strategy to overcome cancer recurrence. In the present study, we found that exposure to tumorigenic compounds significantly increased the growth potential and stem-cell-like properties of various CSCs.

Correction to: Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation in Patients with Primary Immunodeficiencies in Korea: Eleven-Year Experience in a Single Center.

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake in the 7th author's given name. The correct version is presented above.

Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation in Patients with Primary Immunodeficiencies in Korea: Eleven-Year Experience in a Single Center.

Purpose: We aimed to report our single-center experience of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), which has been the only curative option for certain patients with lethal primary immunodeficiencies (PIDs).

Methods: We summarized the results of HCT performed for patients with PIDs for 11 consecutive years from 2006 to 2016 at Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Korea. Twenty-six patients with PIDs received HCT.

SERPINB2 is a novel indicator of stem cell toxicity.

The toxicological evaluation of potential drug candidates is very important in the preclinical phase of drug development. Toxic materials may cause serious decline in stem cell function and loss of stemness. Indeed, we found that toxic exposure more profoundly suppressed the growth of stem cells than terminally differentiated fibroblasts.

NUDT15 Variants Cause Hematopoietic Toxicity with Low 6-TGN Levels in Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Purpose: We aimed to identify the impact of NUDT15 variants on thiopurine intolerance and 6-thioguanine nucleotide (6-TGN) levels in Korean children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

Materials And Methods: Genotyping of NUDT15 was tested in 258 patients with ALL registered at Samsung Medical Center. Patients were classified into normal-activity (wild-type), intermediate-activity (heterozygous variant), and low-activity groups (homozygous or compound heterozygous variant).

Monosomal karyotype is not a predictor of dismal outcome in childhood de novo acute myeloid leukemia.

Monosomal karyotype (MK) is known as a far end of the unfavorable cytogenetics in adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML), while available data in childhood AML is scarce. In this study, we investigated the prevalence and prognostic value of MK with retrospectively analyzed 119 patients newly diagnosed with childhood de novo AML. Ten patients (8.

Clinical Significance of Tyrosine Hydroxylase mRNA Transcripts in Peripheral Blood at Diagnosis in Patients with Neuroblastoma.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the clinical significance of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) expression in peripheral blood (PB) at diagnosis in patients with neuroblastoma.

Materials And Methods: mRNA expression in PB was measured by reverse transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction in 210 patients who were newly diagnosed with neuroblastoma from July 2005 to June 2015 and the clinical significance of expression in PB at diagnosis was evaluated.

Results: expression was positive in 60 patients (28.

HIF2α/EFEMP1 cascade mediates hypoxic effects on breast cancer stem cell hierarchy.

Breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs) have been shown to contribute to tumor growth, metastasis, and recurrence. They are also markedly resistant to conventional cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation. Recent studies have suggested that hypoxia is one of the prominent micro-environmental factors that increase the self-renewal ability of BCSCs, partially by enhancing CSC phenotypes.

Prognostic factors in children with extracranial germ cell tumors treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy.

Purpose: To evaluate the outcomes and prognostic factors in children with extracranial germ cell tumors (GCTs) treated at a single institution.

Methods: Sixty-six children diagnosed with extracranial GCTs between 1996 and 2012 were included in the study. Primary treatment was surgical excision, followed by six cycles of cisplatin-based chemotherapy.

Differential Migration of Mesenchymal Stem Cells to Ischemic Regions after Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion in Rats.

To evaluate the optimal timing of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) transplantation following stroke, rats were transplanted with MSCs at 1 (D1), 4 (D4), and 7 days (D7) after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo). Rats in the D1 group showed a better functional recovery than those in the D4 or D7 groups after MCAo. MSCs preferentially migrated to the cortex in the D1 group, while the MSCs in the D4 or D7 groups preferentially migrated to the striatum.

Clinical Significance of Persistent Tumor in Bone Marrow during Treatment of High-risk Neuroblastoma.

The records of 63 high-risk neuroblastoma patients with bone marrow (BM) tumors at diagnosis were retrospectively reviewed. All patients received nine cycles of induction chemotherapy followed by tandem high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation (HDCT/auto-SCT). Follow-up BM examination was performed every three cycles during induction chemotherapy and every three months for one year after the second HDCT/auto-SCT.

Complete sequence-based screening of TPMT variants in the Korean population.

Thiopurine S-methyltransferase (TPMT) is a cytoplasmic enzyme involved in the metabolism of thiopurine drugs and its activity is largely influenced by polymorphisms of the TPMT gene. To date, more than 35 TPMT variants are known to be associated with reduced enzyme activity, but most studies on the TPMT genotype have included only common nonfunctional variants, such as TPMT*2 and TPMT*3. In this study, we carried out a complete sequencing analysis to screen all TPMT variants in Korean patients.

Toxicity of tandem high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation using carboplatin-thiotepa-etoposide and cyclophosphamide-melphalan regimens for malignant brain tumors in children and young adults.

The number of studies examining the use of tandem high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation (HDCT/auto-SCT) to treat high-risk or recurrent brain tumors is increasing. However, studies addressing the toxicity associated with tandem HDCT/auto-SCT, particularly during the second HDCT/auto-SCT, are very limited. For this reason, we retrospectively evaluated the toxicity of tandem HDCT/auto-SCT with carboplatin-thiotepa-etoposide (CTE) and cyclophosphamide-melphalan (CM) regimens when used to treat high-risk or recurrent brain tumors.