Publications by authors named "Panagiota Bouka"
Background: We used, for the first time, data registered in the Nationwide Registry for Childhood Hematological Malignancies and Solid Tumors (NARECHEM-ST)-Greece to estimate incidence/time trends of the rare childhood (0-14 years) non-Wilms tumors (non-WT), and compared the results of malignant non-WT to those from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER)-USA.
Methods: Fifty-five cases (n = 33 malignant-only) were extracted from NARECHEM-ST (2001-2020) and 332 malignant cases from SEER (1990-2017). To allow between-country comparisons, age-standardized incidence rates (AIR) of malignant-only non-WT were calculated, and temporal trends were evaluated using Poisson and joinpoint regressions.
Article Synopsis
- The study examined the relationship between maternal lifestyle factors during pregnancy, such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and vitamin intake, and the risk of childhood neuroblastoma in their offspring.
- It included a meta-analysis of 21 studies involving over 5,000 cases, finding no significant links between maternal smoking or alcohol use and neuroblastoma risk.
- However, it did find that higher maternal vitamin intake was linked to a significantly lower risk of neuroblastoma, suggesting a need for further research to confirm these findings and inform prevention strategies.
We assessed event-free (EFS) and overall (OS) survival in 676 incident cases of childhood Hodgkin (HL) and non-Hodgkin (NHL) lymphoma actively registered in Greece (1996-2019). HL-OS was 96% and NHL-OS 85%, whereas HL-EFS was 86% and NHL-EFS was 81%, notably similar to the respective OS rates (HL: 95%, NHL: 85%) in developed countries. For HL, older age at diagnosis, high maternal education and close proximity to treatment centers were linked to remarkably favorable outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Despite overall striking advances in survival of childhood liver tumors, outcomes remain poor for specific patient segments. We aimed to assess overall survival (OS) of this rare disease and evaluate the generalizability of prognostic variables included in international collaborative systems using, for the first time, harmonized clinical data from two geographically different cohorts (Greece and Moscow).
Methods: Data for children (0-14 years) with liver tumors were retrieved from two Southern-Eastern European areas (Greece; 2001-2019 and Moscow; 2012-2019).
Article Synopsis
- * Results showed that younger children (under 1.5 years) had much better survival rates (91% overall survival) compared to older children (61% overall survival), with high-risk factors like stage 4 and N-myc amplification leading to poorer outcomes.
- * Notably, treatment with anti-GD2 antibodies significantly improved survival rates in high-risk patients, indicating the need for better cancer registration to enhance understanding and treatment of neuroblastoma across Europe.
Article Synopsis
- The study explored the link between maternal lifestyle factors and the risk of childhood Wilms tumor (WT), focusing on diet, alcohol use, and smoking during pregnancy.
- Findings indicated that maternal intake of folic acid and vitamins is associated with a lower risk of WT, while alcohol consumption both before and during pregnancy was linked to an increased risk.
- No significant association was found between maternal smoking and WT risk, suggesting that smoking may not be a modifiable risk factor in this context.
Background: Wilms tumour (WT) management represents a success story in pediatric oncology. We aimed to assess, for the first time, the event-free survival (EFS) vs. overall survival (OS) in Southern and Eastern Europe (SEE) using harmonised clinical data collected by childhood cancer registries and to identify respective prognostic factors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSurvival and mortality rates of Wilms tumour in Southern and Eastern European countries: Socioeconomic differentials compared with the United States of America.
Eur J Cancer
September 2018
Background: Despite recent therapeutic advancements, Wilms tumour (WT) presents remarkable survival variations. We explored mortality and survival patterns for children (0-14 years) with WT in 12 Southern and Eastern European (SEE) countries in comparison with the United States of America (USA).
Methods: A total of 3966 WT cases (0-14 years) were registered by a network of SEE childhood cancer registries (N:1723) during available registration periods circa 1990-2016 and surveillance, epidemiology, and end results program (SEER) (N:2243; 1990-2012); mortality data were provided by the respective national statistical services.