Search
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia expressing the gamma delta T-cell receptor (γδ T-ALL) is a poorly understood disease. We studied 200 children with γδ T-ALL from 13 clinical study groups to understand the clinical and genetic features of this disease. We found age and genetic drivers were significantly associated with outcome.
Despite significant advances, outcomes for children with Down syndrome (DS, trisomy 21) who develop acute lymphoblastic leukemia remain poor. Reports of large DS-ALL cohorts have shown that children with DS have inferior event-free survival and overall survival compared to children without DS.
Recent research showed that precision medicine can identify new treatment strategies for patients with childhood cancers. However, it is unclear which patients will benefit most from precision-guided treatment.
DNA-informed prescribing (termed pharmacogenomics, PGx) is the epitome of personalised medicine. Despite international guidelines existing, its implementation in paediatric oncology remains sparse.
The rarity of the mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) population poses a significant challenge for MSC research. Therefore, these cells are often expanded in vitro, prior to use. However, long-term culture has been shown to alter primary MSC properties.
Hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is an effective treatment for pediatric patients with high-risk, refractory, or relapsed acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, a large proportion of transplanted patients eventually die due to relapse. To improve overall survival, we propose a combined strategy based on cord blood (CB)-HCT with the application of AML-specific T cell receptor (TCR)-engineered T cell therapy derived from the same CB graft.
Persistent regional and systemic inflammation may promote pain and hyperalgesia in complex regional pain syndrome. In this study, we investigated whether stimulation of α1-adrenoceptors on peripheral blood mononuclear cells might contribute to this inflammatory state.
High-risk childhood leukemia has a poor prognosis because of treatment failure and toxic side effects of therapy. Drug encapsulation into liposomal nanocarriers has shown clinical success at improving biodistribution and tolerability of chemotherapy. However, enhancements in drug efficacy have been limited because of a lack of selectivity of the liposomal formulations for the cancer cells.
This report provides detailed characterization of carcinoma of unknown primary (CUP) in a young child and in the absence of defined therapeutic guidelines for pediatric CUP, the successful treatment strategy described should be considered for similar cases.
We report on the Australian experience of blinatumomab for treatment of 24 children with relapsed/refractory precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (B-ALL) and high-risk genetics, resulting in a minimal residual disease (MRD) response rate of 58%, 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) of 39% and 2-year overall survival of 63%. In total, 83% (n = 20/24) proceeded to haematopoietic stem cell transplant, directly after blinatumomab (n = 12) or following additional salvage therapy (n = 8).