Publications by authors named "Rodrigo L P Romao"

The objective of this study is to report the long-term timing and patterns of relapse for children enrolled in Children's Oncology Group AREN0534, a multicenter phase III clinical trial conducted from 2009 to 2015. Participants included children with bilateral Wilms tumor (BWT) or unilateral WT with genetic predisposition to develop BWT followed for up to 10 years. Smoothed hazard (risk) functions for event-free survival (EFS) were plotted so that the timing of events could be visualized, both overall and within pre-specified groups.

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Pediatric renal tumors are among the most common pediatric solid malignancies. Surgical resection is a key component in the multidisciplinary therapy for children with kidney tumors. Therefore, it is imperative that surgeons caring for children with renal tumors fully understand the current standards of care in order to provide appropriate surgical expertise within this multimodal framework.

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Introduction: The purpose of this study is to examine the outcomes in children with anaplastic bilateral Wilms tumor (BWT) from study AREN0534 in order to define potential prognostic factors and areas to target in future clinical trials.

Methods: Demographic and clinical data from AREN0534 study patients with anaplasia (focal anaplasia [FA], or diffuse anaplasia [DA]) were compared. Event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) were reported using Kaplan-Meier estimation with 95% confidence bands, and differences in outcomes between FA and DA compared using log-rank tests.

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Introduction: The prognostic impact of positive lymph nodes (LN+) and/or singular loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of 1p or 16q were assessed in children with stage III favorable histology Wilms tumor (FHWT) enrolled on AREN0532 or AREN03B2 alone.

Patients And Methods: A total of 635 stage III FHWT vincristine/dactinomycin/doxorubicin (DD4A)-treated patients met inclusion criteria. Event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival are reported overall and by LN sampling, LN status, LOH 1p, LOH 16q, and a combination of LN status and singular LOH.

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This article provides a comprehensive review regarding undescended testicles and other related conditions. We have included background information summarizing variable clinical presentations, epidemiology, and the implications of undescended testis (UDT) on fertility and malignancy risk. This article has an emphasis on the approach to diagnosis and surgical management for the UDT.

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Wilms tumor (WT), or nephroblastoma, is the most common primary malignant renal tumor of childhood. It is an embryonal tumor that develops from remnants of immature kidney. There are approximately 500 new WT cases diagnosed in the United States every year.

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Background: Quality improvement and patient safety (QIPS) have been assigned a higher profile in CanMEDS 2015, CanMEDS-Family Medicine 2017 and new accreditation standards, prompting an initiative at Dalhousie University to create a vision for integrating QIPS into postgraduate medical education.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to describe the implementation of a QIPS strategy across residency education at Dalhousie University.

Methods: A QIPS task force was formed, and a literature review and needs assessment survey were completed.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to explore the relationship between the extent of surgical removal of primary tumors and survival rates in high-risk neuroblastoma patients classified as INSS stage 4.
  • Researchers analyzed data from the Cancer in Young People in Canada database for patients diagnosed from 2001 to 2019, focusing on those who underwent complete versus incomplete tumor resections.
  • Results indicated that patients who achieved complete resection had significantly better 3-year and 5-year event-free survival and overall survival rates compared to those with incomplete resection, suggesting that complete surgical removal of the tumor is linked to improved survival outcomes.
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Surgery is one of the cornerstones of Wilms tumor treatment. In this article, we present technical advancements that are finding their way into the armamentarium of pediatric cancer surgeons. We discuss the current approaches, challenges, opportunities, and future directions of minimally invasive surgery (laparoscopic and robotics), image-guided surgery, and fluorescence-guided surgery.

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Background: Bilateral Wilms tumor (BWT) is a rare entity. The goal of this study is to report outcomes (overall and event-free survival, OS/EFS) of BWT in a large cohort representative of the Canadian population since 2000. We focused on the occurrence of late events (relapse or death beyond 18 months), as well as outcomes of patients treated following the only protocol specifically designed for BWT to date, AREN0534, compared to patients treated following other therapeutic schemes.

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Introduction: Hypospadias and cryptorchidism are hormone-mediated malformations that occur during male development. Prevalence rates of hypospadias and cryptorchidism are thought to be increasing worldwide. In-utero exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) may have a role in the occurrence of these malformations.

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Article Synopsis
  • A study analyzed 1,259 children diagnosed with WT between 2009 and 2019, finding that 7.5% had pleural effusions, which were associated with older age and more advanced cancer stages.
  • Despite the presence of pleural effusions, survival rates were still high (86.2% event-free, 91.5% overall), and the occurrence of malignant cells in the fluid was low, suggesting no need to change treatment approaches based on pleural effusion
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Introduction: In pediatric surgery, proxy decision-makers are frequently involved in treatment planning and may experience decisional conflict (DC). Shared decision-making (SDM) approaches may be effective to remedy DC. This study investigates DC and SDM involvement in elective pediatric penile surgery.

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Article Synopsis
  • Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) is a type of intermediate malignancy, and this study involves a large cohort of patients (182) under the age of 39 to better understand the disease.
  • The findings showed that the median age of patients is 11 years, with common symptoms including pain and respiratory issues, and a notable 53% of tumors displayed ALK overexpression.
  • Surgery was frequently performed (91%), leading to a high 5-year survival rate of 95%, but certain factors like tumor size and respiratory symptoms were linked to recurrence risk, indicating that aggressive surgical approaches may not always be necessary.*
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Congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT) are diagnosed in approximately 3-6 per 1000 live births and represent a spectrum of urologic conditions impacting the kidneys, ureter, bladder, and urethra. Although both are considered under the classification of CAKUT, there is no known unifying pathophysiologic mechanism for ureteroceles and posterior urethral valves with only 1 case report noted in the literature. Herein we report the only documented case of a patient with CAKUT related to posterior urethral valves, ureterocele, and multicystic dysplastic kidney.

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Objective: We conducted a multicenter study to assess treatments and outcomes in a national cohort of infants with congenital ovarian cysts.

Summary Background Data: Wide variability exists in the treatment of congenital ovarian cysts. The effects of various treatment strategies on outcomes, specifically ovarian preservation, are not known.

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The treatment modalities for testicular tumors (surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy), have different associated gonadotoxic risks and the overall survival for most pediatric patients with testicular tumors is very good. However, necessary treatments may lead to the development of lasting gonadal dysfunction and subsequent negative health and quality of life impact. Research with long-term follow-up for patients who have undergone surgery as the sole treatment modality for testicular tumors in childhood are lacking.

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Congenital anomalies of the external genitalia (CAEG) are a prevalent and serious public health concern with lifelong impacts on the urinary function, sexual health, fertility, tumor development, and psychosocial wellbeing of affected individuals. Complications of treatment are frequent, and data reflecting long-term outcomes in adulthood are limited. To identify a path forward to improve treatments and realize the possibility of preventing CAEG, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the American Urological Association convened researchers from a range of disciplines to coordinate research efforts to fully understand the different etiologies of these common conditions, subsequent variation in clinical phenotypes, and best practices for long term surgical success.

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Our objective was to determine if maternal first trimester urinary phthalate concentrations are associated with reduced penile length (PL) or width (PW) at birth in full term singletons. First trimester phthalate metabolite urinary concentrations were obtained from mothers participating in a Canadian pregnancy cohort study (MIREC). PL and PW were measured shortly after birth in the male offspring.

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Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine whether point-of-care (community hospitals vs. tertiary centers) or treatment-delaying variables (transfer, emergency room [ER] throughput, and distance traveled) affect orchiectomy rates in minors with testicular torsion (TT) using a national database.

Study Design: This was a retrospective cohort study using prospectively collected data by the Canadian Institute of Health Information (CIHI) between 2010 and 2015.

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Purpose: Localized vaginal rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is associated with a favorable prognosis, but strategies for local control remain controversial. The use of radiotherapy (RT) can have important long-term sequelae, while traditional resection involves major reconstructive surgery. We describe a new surgical approach employing a minimally-invasive resection and immediate reconstruction.

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