Treatment of pediatric ocular melanoma with high-dose interleukin-2 and thalidomide.

Uveal melanoma is the most common primary ocular malignancy, although it is rare in children, and patients presenting with metastatic disease have a median survival of only 2 to 5 months. The tumor is generally unresponsive to systemic chemotherapy, but immunotherapy may be effective in selected patients. This report describes an 8-year-old girl with metastatic uveal melanoma treated with high-dose, bolus interleukin-2 (IL-2) and the antiangiogenic agent thalidomide.

Long-term follow-up of short intensive multiagent chemotherapy without high-dose methotrexate ('Orange') in children with advanced non-lymphoblastic non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: a children's cancer group report.

Despite prolonged therapy (18 months), children with advanced non-lymphoblastic, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) treated on previous Children's Cancer Group (CCG) trials achieved less than a 60% 5-year event-free survival (EFS). In this study we piloted a shorter but more intensive protocol ('Orange') to determine the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of this alternative treatment approach. Thirty-nine children received a CHOP-based induction, etoposide/ifosfamide consolidation, DECAL (dexamethasone, etoposide, cisplatin, cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C) and L-asparaginase) intensification, and either one or two similar but less intense maintenance courses.

Stage 4 squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue in a child: complete response to chemoradiotherapy.

This report describes a complete response to a chemoradiotherapy regimen in a child with an advanced and unresectable squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. An 8-year-old girl had stage 4 squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue (T4N2M0), causing severe trismus and dysphagia. She received hyperfractionated external beam radiotherapy (total 74.

Characterization of t(11;19)(q23;p13.3) by fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis in a pediatric patient with therapy-related acute myelogenous leukemia.

This case presents a Caucasian girl diagnosed with early pre-B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia at age 2 years. The only chromosomal anomaly detected in her bone marrow cells at this time was an add(12p). By age 4 years, she had a bone marrow and central nervous system (CNS) relapse of ALL and was treated with chemotherapy that included etoposide.

Lymph node manifestations of limited Churg-Strauss syndrome.

Churg-Strauss syndrome is a systemic vasculitis characterized by asthma, tissue and blood eosinophilia, and granulomatous vasculitis. Lymph node involvement as part of systemic disease or as the primary site of involvement is rare. We report a single case of primary (isolated) nodal Churg-Strauss syndrome occurring in an 11-year-old boy with asthma, fever, night sweats, and cervical adenopathy.

Advances in the Treatment of Adolescents with Sickle Hemoglobinopathies.

This detailed review of sickle hemoglobinopathies covers their incidence and epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, clinical manifestations, complications, and organ changes. Issues such as pregnancy and birth control in patients with sickle cell disease, surgery and anesthesia, and medical management are also discussed.

Needle biopsy in the diagnosis of testicular leukemia in children.

Aggressive chemotherapy in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia has resulted in a marked upsurge in patient survival. In the course of their management, testicular biopsy and rebiopsy have an important role. We evaluated the histological findings in 50 sets of open wedge and simultaneous needle core biopsy specimens from 44 testes of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia to determine the accuracy of the needle biopsy technique in the evaluation of testis involvement in acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Sickle cell crisis as evaluated from measurements of hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase and myoglobin in plasma.

Data on plasma hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase activity (I) and myoglobin concentration were used to evaluate painful sickle cell crises. I was increased during non-crisis steady state in patients with sickle cell disease as compared to normal values (232, SD 79.7 vs 85, SD 33 Sigma units/mL).

Hyponatremia in sickle cell disease. A renal salt-losing state.

Severe hyponatremia has been observed in three children with sickle cell disease, and mild hyponatremia was noted during 36% of random hospitalizations for sickle crisis secondary to vasoocclusion or infection. Serum and urinary electrolytes were therefore studied in such patients. Hyponatremia was found in 52% of patients hospitalized with pain and/or fever, even though they received large amounts of sodium intravenously.