Publications by authors named "Simon Kao"

Accurate staging of nodal involvement in pediatric sarcoma patients is important to determine correct systemic and local therapy, with the goal to reduce subsequent recurrences. However, differences in lymph node staging strategies, definitions, and treatment protocols between the Children's Oncology Group (COG), European paediatric Soft tissue sarcoma Study Group (EpSSG), and the Cooperative Weichteilsarkom Studiengruppe (CWS) complicate comparisons. In this article, we aim to establish internationally recognized recommendations for lymph node assessment and treatment of children and adolescents diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) and non-rhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcoma (NRSTS) according to the Consensus Conference Standard Operating Procedure methodology.

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Background: Embryonal sarcoma of the liver (ESL) is a rare mesenchymal tumor most common in childhood; the optimal treatment approach is uncertain. The clinical features and outcomes of patients with ESL enrolled in a Children's Oncology Group (COG) clinical trial that evaluated a risk-based strategy for treating soft tissue sarcomas in patients aged <30 years were evaluated.

Methods: This subset analysis included patients with ESL enrolled in COG study ARST0332.

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Rhabdomyosarcoma is the most common soft-tissue neoplasm in the pediatric population. The survival of children with rhabdomyosarcoma has only marginally improved over the past 25 years and remains poor for those with metastatic disease. A significant challenge to advances in treatment of rhabdomyosarcoma is the relative rarity of this disease, necessitating years to complete clinical trials.

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JCO ARST1321 was a phase II study designed to compare the near complete pathologic response rate after preoperative chemoradiation with/without pazopanib in children and adults with intermediate-/high-risk chemotherapy-sensitive body wall/extremity non-Rhabdomyosarcoma Soft Tissue Sarcoma (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02180867). Enrollment was stopped early following a predetermined interim analysis that found the rate of near complete pathologic response to be significantly greater with the addition of pazopanib.

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Purpose: The aim of this paper is to better define the clinical features and outcomes of young patients with non-rhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcoma (NRSTS) with regional and distant lymph node (LN) metastases treated in a standardised fashion, we analysed LN involvement in COG study ARST0332, which evaluated a risk-based treatment strategy for young patients with all stages of NRSTS.

Patients And Methods: Patients <30 years old with newly diagnosed NRSTS and LN metastases enrolled on ARST0332 were studied. Regional LN sampling was required for those with epithelioid sarcoma, clear cell sarcoma or clinically/radiographically enlarged LNs.

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The most common pediatric extragonadal pelvic cancers include germ cell tumors, sacrococcygeal teratomas, and rhabdomyosarcomas (arising from the urinary bladder, prostate, paratesticular tissues, vagina, uterus, and perineum). This paper describes the radiological and nuclear medicine features of these entities and provides consensus-based recommendations for the assessment at diagnosis, during, and after treatment.

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Purpose: Synovial sarcoma (SS) is the second most common malignant soft tissue tumor in children. ARST0332 evaluated a risk-based treatment strategy for young patients with soft tissue sarcoma designed to limit therapy for low-risk (LR) disease and to test neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for unresected higher-risk disease.

Methods: Newly diagnosed patients with SS age < 30 years were assigned to four treatment arms based on disease features: A (surgery only), B (55.

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Type 1 diabetes and insulinoma can co-occur in pediatric patients and may present with episodes of hypo- and hyperglycemia, significant glycemic variability, and weight gain. Surgical resection leads to development of fulminant diabetes.

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Purpose: The ARST0332 trial for pediatric and young adults with nonrhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcoma (NRSTS) used risk-based treatment including primary resection with lower-than-standard radiation doses to optimize local control (LC) while minimizing long-term toxicity in those requiring radiation therapy (RT). RT for high-grade NRSTS was based on extent of resection (R0: negative margins, R1: microscopic margins, R2/U: gross disease/unresectable); those with >5 cm tumors received chemotherapy (CT; ifosfamide/doxorubicin). This analysis evaluates LC for patients assigned to RT and prognostic factors associated with local recurrence (LR).

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Background: Outcomes for children and adults with advanced soft tissue sarcoma are poor with traditional therapy. We investigated whether the addition of pazopanib to preoperative chemoradiotherapy would improve pathological near complete response rate compared with chemoradiotherapy alone.

Methods: In this joint Children's Oncology Group and NRG Oncology multicentre, randomised, open-label, phase 2 trial, we enrolled eligible adults (aged ≥18 years) and children (aged between 2 and <18 years) from 57 hospitals in the USA and Canada with unresected, newly diagnosed trunk or extremity chemotherapy-sensitive soft tissue sarcoma, which were larger than 5 cm in diameter and of intermediate or high grade.

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Background: Tumour grade, tumour size, resection potential, and extent of disease affect outcome in paediatric non-rhabdomyosarcoma soft-tissue sarcoma (NRSTS), but no risk stratification systems exist and the standard of care is poorly defined. We developed a risk stratification system from known prognostic factors and assessed it in the context of risk-adapted therapy for young patients with NRSTS.

Methods: In this prospective study, eligible patients enrolled in 159 hospitals in three countries were younger than 30 years, had a Lansky (patients ≤16 years) or Karnofsky (patients >16 years) performance status score of at least 50, and a new diagnosis of a WHO (2002 criteria) intermediate (rarely metastasising) or malignant soft-tissue tumour (apart from tumour types eligible for other Children's Oncology Group studies and tumours for which the therapy in this trial was deemed inappropriate), malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour, non-metastatic and grossly resected dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma of the liver, or unclassified malignant soft-tissue sarcoma.

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Non-rhabdomyosarcoma soft-tissue sarcoma (NRSTS) refers to a widely heterogeneous group of extraskeletal mesenchymal neoplasms accounting for approximately 4% of all childhood cancers. This article summarizes the clinical and imaging features of these rare tumors and describes in detail the three most common histological types of NRSTSs encountered in children - synovial sarcoma, malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor and infantile fibrosarcoma. The author discusses the role of non-cross-sectional and cross-sectional imaging.

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Purpose: The primary aim of this clinical trial was to prioritize bevacizumab or temsirolimus for additional investigation in rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) when administered in combination with cytotoxic chemotherapy to patients with RMS in first relapse with unfavorable prognosis.

Patients And Methods: Patients were randomly assigned to receive bevacizumab on day 1 or temsirolimus on days 1, 8, and 15 of each 21-day treatment cycle, together with vinorelbine on days 1 and 8, and cyclophosphamide on day 1 for a maximum of 12 cycles. Local tumor control with surgery and/or radiation therapy was permitted after 6 weeks of treatment.

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Background: Data on the clinical features, optimal treatment and outcomes of paediatric patients with epithelioid sarcoma (ES) are limited and mostly retrospective.

Methods: A subset analysis of ES patients < 30 years of age enrolled on two international prospective clinical trials conducted between 7/2005 and 11/2015 was performed. Risk-adapted therapy was based on tumour diameter, histologic grade, extent of surgery and presence/absence of metastases and included surgery ± radiotherapy for all patients with the addition of ifosfamide/doxorubicin chemotherapy for intermediate-/high-risk patients.

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Objective: To correlate imaging features of epithelioid sarcoma in children and young adults enrolled in Children's Oncology Group study ARST0332 with clinical and pathological findings.

Materials And Methods: Fifteen patients (6 males; median age 16.1 years, range 6.

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Long-term cuffed hemodialysis catheters are being increasingly used in the management of patients with chronic kidney disease. These tunneled catheters are available in different types and characteristics. Patients undergo imaging, primarily chest radiographs to confirm the position of the catheter tip.

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A thyroid nodule detected clinically or incidentally at medical imaging is a common indication for ultrasonography (US) in the adult population. This scenario is less frequently the case in pediatric patients, and the approach to evaluation of thyroid nodules deserves modification in these patients because of the increased probability of malignancy in children, compared with adults. Evaluating a thyroid nodule with US in a systematic way requires familiarity with a number of features that can be assessed and the terms that the radiologist uses in each category.

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Fibroblast growth factors and fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs) play important roles in human axial and craniofacial skeletal development. FGFR1, FGFR2, and FGFR3 are crucial for both chondrogenesis and osteogenesis. Mutations in the genes encoding FGFRs, types 1-3, are responsible for various skeletal dysplasias and craniosynostosis syndromes.

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Background And Overview: Lacrimo-auriculo-dento-digital (LADD) syndrome is an autosomal dominant disorder with variable lacrimal and salivary gland hypoplasia and aplasia, auricular anomalies and hearing loss, dental defects and caries, and digital anomalies.

Case Description: The authors present the cases of 2 unrelated children with enamel defects and history of dry mouth leading to recurrent dental caries. The referring diagnoses were Sjögren disease and hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia, respectively.

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Objective: The purpose of this article is to determine the MRI and CT features of low-grade fibromyxoid sarcoma in children.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed images of 11 pediatric patients with low-grade fibromyxoid sarcoma from a phase 3 clinical trial of nonrhabdomyosarcoma soft-tissue sarcoma (Children's Oncology Group Protocol ARST0332). MRI and CT were performed in 10 and four patients, respectively.

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Inflammatory pseudotumor is a generic term used to designate a heterogeneous group of inflammatory mass-forming lesions histologically characterized by myofibroblastic proliferation with chronic inflammatory infiltrate. Inflammatory pseudotumor is multifactorial in etiology and generally benign, but it is often mistaken for malignancy given its aggressive appearance. It can occur throughout the body and is seen in all age groups.

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