Acute promyelocytic leukemia in childhood and adolescence: treatment results of a modified AIDA protocol at a Brazilian center

ABSTRACT Introduction: Acute promyelocytic leukemia currently presents an excellent chance of cure with protocols based on all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) and anthracycline or only differentiation agents. However, high early mortality rates continue to be reported Methods: Between 2000 and 2018, patients were enrolled and retrospectively analyzed by medical records. A modified AIDA protocol, with a 1-year shortening of the treatment duration, reduction in the number of drugs and a strategy to reduce early mortality by the postponement of the initiation of anthracyclines were employed. Overall and event-free survival rates and toxicity were analyzed Results: Thirty-two patients were enrolled, of whom 56% were female, with a median age of 12 years and 34% belonged to the high-risk group. Two patients had the hypogranular variant and three had another cytogenetic alteration, in addition to the t(15;17). The median start of the first anthracycline dose was 7 days. There were two early deaths (6%) due to central nervous system (CNS) bleeding. All patients achieved molecular remission after the consolidation phase. Two children relapsed and were rescued by arsenic trioxide and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The presence of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) at diagnosis (p = 0.03) was the only factor with survival impact. The five-year event-free survival (EFS) was 84% and 5-year overall survival (OS) was 90% Conclusion: The survival results were comparable to those found in the AIDA protocol, with a low rate of early mortality in relation to the Brazilian reality.

New concepts and outcomes for children with hepatoblastoma based on the experience of a tertiary center over the last 21 years

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to summarize the experience of a tertiary center in treating hepatoblastoma for the last 21 years. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifty-eight cases were included. The tumor extent and prognosis were assessed using the PRETEXT system. The following data were analyzed: age at diagnosis, comorbidities, prematurity, treatment modalities, histopathological findings, surgical details and complications, treatment outcomes, chemotherapy schedules, side effects and complications. Treatment outcomes included the occurrence of local or distant recurrence, the duration of survival and the cause of death. The investigation methods were ultrasonography, CT scan, serum alpha-fetoprotein level measurement and needle biopsy. Chemotherapy was then planned, and the resectability of the tumor was reevaluated via another CT scan. RESULTS: The mean numbers of neoadjuvant cycles and postoperative cycles of chemotherapy were 6±2 and 1.5±1.7, respectively. All children except one were submitted for surgical resection, including 50 partial liver resections and 7 liver transplantations. Statistical comparisons demonstrated that long-term survival was associated with the absence of metastasis (p=0.04) and the type of surgery (resection resulted in a better outcome than transplantation) (p=0.009). No associations were found between vascular invasion, incomplete resection, histological subtype, multicentricity and survival. The overall 5-year survival rate of the operated cases was 87.7%. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the experience of a Brazilian tertiary center in the management of hepatoblastoma in children demonstrates that long survival is associated with the absence of metastasis and the type of surgery. A multidisciplinary treatment involving chemotherapy, surgical resection and liver transplantation (including transplantations using tissue from living donors) led to good outcomes and survival indexes. .

Fatores clínicos e biológicos para recidivas em tumores de Wilms localizados / Clinical and biological factors for relapse in localized wilms' tumor

Apesar do excelente prognóstico dos tumores de Wilms (TW) localizados (estádios I e II) e de histologia favorável (HF), 10% deles recidivam. Em 122 pacientes com TW com essas características, diagnosticados de 1976 e 2001, analisamos alguns fatores clínicos, como a idade por ocasião do diagnóstico e peso do tumor, em todos os pacientes; fatores biológicos, como o TP53 e a glicoproteína-p, em 40 deles; e variáveis histológicas de microestadiamento (invasão de seio renal, cápsula tumoral, vasos intra-renais e pseudocápsula inflamatória) em 28 com TW em estádio I. Correlacionando todos esses fatores com a presença de recidiva, observamos que a chance maior de recidiva estatisticamente significativa somente foi verificada em pacientes com duas ou mais variáveis de microestadiamento e/ou peso tumoral maior que 550 g.

In spite of the excellent prognosis of localized favorable histology (FH) of Wilms' tumor (WT), 10% of them will relapse. In 122 TW patients with these characteristics, diagnosed between 1976 and 2001, some clinical factors have been analyzed, such as age at diagnosis and tumor weight in all patients; biological factors, like TP53 and p-glycoprotein, in 40 of them; and microsubstaging histological variables (invasion of renal sinus, tumor capsule, intrarenal vessels, and inflammatory pseudocapsule). Correlating all of those factors with relapse, we have observed that only patients with the association of two or more microsubstaging variables and/or tumor weight over 550 g showed a statistically significant higher chance of relapse.

Três casos de carcinoma de nasofaringe associados ao vírus epstein-barr (EBV) em crianças: aspectos clínicos, patológicos e imunohistoquímicos / Three cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma associated with epstein-barr virus (EBV) during childhood: clinical, pathological and immunocytochemical features

Três oacientes, uma menina de sete anos, um menino de 12 e outro de 14 anos, apresentaram linfadenopatia cervical do lado esquerdo com início respectivamente três, quatro e cinco meses antes do diagnóstico, com características neoplásicas e associadas à perda de peso. A hipótese diagnóstica inicial, nos três casos, foi de doença de Hodgkin devido à apresentação clínica e à idade. Os exames histológicos das biópsias revelaram carcinoma de rinofaringe, confirmado também pela imunohistoquímica. O tumor reagia com anticorpos para ceratina, com resultados negativos para anticorpos marcadores de células linfóides (CD3, CD15, CD20, CD30, CD45 e CD45RO). A presença do EBV foi confirmada por métodos imunohistoquímicos, que reconheceram o antígeno viral associado ao LPM-1 (proteína latente de membrana-1), em 50 a 60 por cento das células tumorais. Os autores chamam a atenção para a raridade do carcinoma de rinofaringe na infância e a sua freqüênte associação com a infecção pelo EBV