Pediatric blood & cancer
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Pediatric blood & cancer · Jul 2009
Multicenter StudyOutcome of recurrent or refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia in infants with MLL gene rearrangements: A report from the Japan Infant Leukemia Study Group.
Despite the poor outcome of recurrent or refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in infants with MLL gene rearrangement, few studies have focused on this specific group. We conducted a retrospective analysis of infants with recurrent or refractory ALL from two previous consecutive Japanese studies to clarify the characteristics and prognostic factors among these patients ⋯ The prognosis of infants with recurrent or refractory MLL-R ALL is extremely poor despite alternative treatments including HSCT; therefore, it is necessary to develop novel treatment strategies.
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Pediatric blood & cancer · Jul 2009
Health status at long-term follow-up in patients treated for extremity localized Ewing Sarcoma or osteosarcoma: a Scandinavian sarcoma group study.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate late effects and symptom complaints in long-term survivors (>5 years) of Extremity Bone Sarcoma (EBS survivors). The results were compared with findings in age- and gender-matched individuals from the general population (NORMs). ⋯ EBS survivors have poorer health status compared to age- and gender-matched controls. Long-term follow-up of these patients is therefore mandatory.
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Pediatric blood & cancer · May 2009
Abnormal NT-pro-BNP levels in asymptomatic long-term survivors of childhood cancer treated with anthracyclines.
Anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity can cause serious health problems for an increasing number of survivors of childhood malignancies. The aims of this study were to document plasma concentrations of cardiac troponin T (cTnT) and NT-pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-pro-BNP) in a large group of asymptomatic long-term survivors of childhood cancer treated with anthracyclines, and to study the relation of the abnormal biomarker levels with different risk factors for anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity and conventional echocardiographic parameters. ⋯ Cardiac TnT does not contribute to the early detection of late onset anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity. Abnormal levels of NT-pro-BNP were detected in 13% of 122 asymptomatic, long-term survivors of childhood cancer. Follow-up of these survivors is essential to answer the question whether NT-pro-BNP is an early marker for late onset anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity.