Improved outcomes over time and higher mortality in CMV seropositive allogeneic stem cell transplantation patients with COVID-19; An infectious disease working party study from the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation registry.

Introduction: COVID-19 has been associated with high morbidity and mortality in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (allo-HCT) recipients.

Methods: This study reports on 986 patients reported to the EBMT registry during the first 29 months of the pandemic.

Results: The median age was 50.

High-dose methotrexate and/or leucovorin rescue for the treatment of children with lymphoblastic malignancies: do we really know why, when and how?

Methotrexate (MTX) remains a mainstay in the treatment of children with hematological malignancies. The availability of an antidote/rescue agent, leucovorin (LV) has allowed escalation of MTX doses to achieve enormous plasma concentrations, compared with plasma folate. However, a recent review of more than 40 trials for children with ALL concluded that the addition of high dose MTX (HDMTX) in many different doses and schedules did not improve CNS therapy and made only minor improvements in systemic therapy for children with ALL [11].

Concomitant radiotherapy and metronomic temozolomide in pediatric high-risk brain tumors.

Temozolomide, an oral alkylating agent has a significant activity in preclinical testing and in clinical trials in adults and children as well. Penetration across the blood brain barrier has been documented. In adult and pediatric phase I and II trials a five-day every 28 days schedule was first approved for clinical use.