Pediatric hematology and oncology
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Pediatr Hematol Oncol · May 1999
Treatment of pediatric B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas at the Motol Hospital in Prague, Czech Republic: results based on the NHL BFM 90 protocols.
Malignant non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL) of childhood and adolescence are a heterogeneous group of diseases originating from the lymphoid cells. Unlike adults with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, children typically have extranodal disseminated disease of high grade (Burkitt's lymphoma, large cell lymphoma, or lymphoblastic lymphoma). This study was conducted to determine the feasibility of treating children in the Czech Republic with B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas according to very intensive protocols based on the German Berlin Frankfurt Munster (BFM) NHL 90 study. ⋯ Treatment results were not identical between NHL subtypes, with large cell lymphoma patients doing significantly better (pEFS 90%, p = .008). The use of protocols based on BFM 90 study was feasible at this center. The treatment results are approximately 10% lower than those reported by BFM investigators, but comparable to results from other centers.
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Pediatr Hematol Oncol · Mar 1999
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialOndansetron and tropisetron in the control of nausea and vomiting in children receiving combined cancer chemotherapy.
Ondansetron (Zofron, Glaxo) and tropisetron (Navoban, Sandoz) are selective serotonin (5HT3) antagonists that have proven very effective in the prevention of vomiting and nausea in adults and children receiving cancer chemotherapy. This study compared the efficacy of the two agents in the prevention of vomiting and nausea in children receiving chemotherapy for solid tumors and blood malignancies. A total of 23 children were studied in 205 chemotherapeutic cycles (116 one-day regimens and 89 multiple-day regimens). ⋯ The comparison of the two groups not taking into consideration the emetogenicity of the chemotherapeutic agents showed that ondansetron was more effective in 1-day regimens (P = .023), whereas the two agents were equally effective in multiple-day regimens (P = .2). The statistical analysis depending on the emetogenicity of the chemotherapeutic agents showed increased efficacy of ondansetron in mild (P = .017) and moderately emetogenic chemotherapeutic agents, whereas there was no difference in the highly emetogenic drug group. Ondansetron is found to be more effective than tropisetron in controlling acute nausea and vomiting in children receiving mild and moderately emetogenic chemotherapeutic drugs, although there is no difference in the efficacy of both antiemetic agents when highly emetogenic drugs are administered.
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The hematology and oncology service at Birmingham Children's Hospital was established in the late 1960s and now is one of the largest in the United Kingdom. It provides comprehensive care for the entire range of childhood malignancies, coagulation disorders, and hemoglobinopathies and other hematological disorders, and undertakes bone marrow transplant and megatherapy/peripheral blood stem cell procedures. Research includes clinical trials of treatments of childhood cancers; molecular biology studies on leukemia, Hodgkin's disease, neuroblastoma, and sarconas; childhood cancer epidemiology, and geographical and racial incidence; and treatment of hemophilia and molecular investigation of coagulation disorders. These activities involve collaboration with local, national, and international research groups.
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A patient suffering from infantile-onset insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus is reported in whom immune pancytopenia (Evans' syndrome) developed at the age of 2 1/2 years. Hepatosplenomegaly, chronic lymphadenopathy, and elevated levels of immunoglobulins G and M were also present. The course of Evans' syndrome was fatal in this patient. The association of Evans' syndrome with other immune disorders is discussed.