Cellular and humoral immunotherapy in children, adolescents and young adults with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

The prognosis is dismal (2-year overall survival less than 25%) for childhood, adolescent, and young adult (CAYA) with relapsed and/or refractory (R/R) non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Novel targeted therapies are desperately needed for this poor-risk population. CD19, CD20, CD22, CD79a, CD38, CD30, LMP1 and LMP2 are attractive targets for immunotherapy in CAYA patients with R/R NHL.

From bench to bedside: the past, present and future of therapy for systemic paediatric ALCL, ALK.

Anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) is a T cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma that mainly presents in paediatric and young adult patients. The majority of cases express a chimeric fusion protein resulting in hyperactivation of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) as the consequence of a chromosomal translocation. Rarer cases lack expression of ALK fusion proteins and are categorised as ALCL, ALK-.

Biologic therapies for refractory juvenile dermatomyositis: five years of experience of the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance in North America.

Background: The prognosis of children with juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) has improved remarkably since the 1960's with the use of corticosteroid and immunosuppressive therapy. Yet there remain a minority of children who have refractory disease. Since 2003 the sporadic use of biologics (genetically-engineered proteins that usually are derived from human genes) for inflammatory myositis has been reported.