Implementing a behavioral physical activity program in children and adolescent survivors of childhood cancer: a pilot randomized controlled trial.

Purpose We aimed to document the acceptability (enrollment rate) and feasibility (phone call delivery rate) of implementing a behavioral PA intervention over 12 weeks, in addition to documenting its effects on patient-reported outcomes and physical functioning. This study also describes the costs of carrying out a behavioral PA intervention. A total of 40 participants were randomized in a 1:1 ratio.

Assessment of chimerism by next generation sequencing: A comparison to STR/qPCR methods.

Chimerism analysis is used to evaluate patients after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (allo-HSCT) for engraftment and minimal measurable residual disease (MRD) monitoring. A combination of short-tandem repeat (STR) and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was required to achieve both sensitivity and accuracy in the patients with various chimerism statuses. In this study, an insertion/deletion-based multiplex chimerism assay by next generation sequencing (NGS) was evaluated using 5 simulated unrelated donor-recipient combinations from 10 volunteers.

Volumetric endpoints in diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma: comparison to cross-sectional measures and outcome correlations in the International DIPG/DMG Registry.

Background: Cross-sectional tumor measures are traditional clinical trial endpoints; however volumetric measures may better assess tumor growth. We determined the correlation and compared the prognostic impact of cross-sectional and volumetric measures of progressive disease (PD) among patients with DIPG.

Methods: Imaging and clinical data were abstracted from the International DIPG Registry.

Suprasellar central nervous system ganglioneuroblastoma: a case in a 9-year-old child and review of the literature.

Purpose: Intracranial ganglioneuroblastomas are incredibly rare neuroectodermal tumors with only 8 described cases total, 5 of those having imaging findings METHODS: Here we present a 9-year-old female patient with 4 months progressive headaches, personality changes, and vomiting. We also present a review of the current literature of intracranial ganglioneuroblastomas.

Results: Imaging demonstrated a partially calcified suprasellar mass measuring 4.

Outcomes of Measurable Residual Disease in Pediatric Acute Myeloid Leukemia before and after Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant: Validation of Difference from Normal Flow Cytometry with Chimerism Studies and Wilms Tumor 1 Gene Expression.

We enrolled 150 patients in a prospective multicenter study of children with acute myeloid leukemia undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) to compare the detection of measurable residual disease (MRD) by a "difference from normal" flow cytometry (ΔN) approach with assessment of Wilms tumor 1 (WT1) gene expression without access to the diagnostic specimen. Prospective analysis of the specimens using this approach showed that 23% of patients screened for HSCT had detectable residual disease by ΔN (.04% to 53%).

Intracranial malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor variant: an unusual neurovascular phenotype sarcoma case invading through the petrous bone.

Introduction: Intracranial malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) is exceedingly rare. Previously reported cases of intracranial MPNST have been associated with development within a prominent cranial nerve.

Methods: This is the first report of an MPNST with both nerve sheath and vascular phenotype that follows the neurovascular bundle, without arising in a major cranial nerve or in the setting of neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1).

Radiation Necrosis Following Proton Beam Therapy in the Pediatric Population: a Case Series.

Radiation necrosis after proton beam radiotherapy in the pediatric population is a finding that should be evaluated. We present two cases of radiation necrosis in pediatric patients who underwent proton beam radiation therapy following gross total resection of tumors. As seen in both our cases, patients often present with radiographic changes found on surveillance imaging.

Reduced frequency of CD56 dim CD16 pos natural killer cells in pediatric systemic inflammatory response syndrome/sepsis patients.

Background: Sepsis continues to be a leading cause of death in infants and children. Natural killer (NK) cells serve as a bridge between innate and adaptive immunity, yet their role in pediatric sepsis has not been well characterized.

Methods: We tested the hypothesis that decreased NK cell cytotoxicity is a common feature of pediatric systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS)/sepsis patients by measuring, using flow cytometry, NK cell cytotoxicity and cell surface phenotype in the peripheral blood of 38 pediatric intensive care patients who demonstrated signs and symptoms of SIRS and/or sepsis.

Synchronous occurrence of metastatic Wilms tumor and ganglioneuroma.

We describe a 4-year-old female patient with a persistent paraspinal mass following chemotherapy for Wilms tumor. A discordant response to chemotherapy prompted biopsy of the persistent mass, which revealed a ganglioneuroma. This report highlights the synchronous occurrence of different tumors in the same patient, and suggests that repeat biopsies should be considered when contiguous tumor masses do not respond as expected.