Cancer in children and adolescents in Spain: incidence, treatment setting and provider specialty

Purpose. To analyze cancer incidence, distribution of malignancy, treatment setting and provider specialty of cancer patients, 0-19 years old, in the Comunitat Valenciana, Spain. Methods/patients. All incident childhood and adolescent (0-19 years) cancer cases registered in the population-based Comunitat Valenciana Childhood Cancer Registry (RTICV) from 2007 to 2010 were included. Pathological and hematological diagnoses were recoded using the International Classification of Childhood Cancer Third Edition (ICCC-3). Treatment setting and provider specialty were analyzed. Results. 696 patients <20 years were diagnosed with cancer: 513 cases were children (0-14 years) and 183 were adolescents (15-19 years). Overall age-adjusted incidence for 2007-2010 was 176.0 cases per million (95 % CI 162.8-189.2), with incidence being the highest among infants (287.4), followed by 1-4 years (205.5), adolescents (179.9), 10-14 years (150.2) and 5-9 years (140.6). Among adolescents aged 14-19 years, the treatment setting differed by cancer type; 87 % of them were never seen at pediatric oncology units, while 40 % were treated in up to 20 different medical oncology departments in institutions without pediatric oncology expertise. Conclusions. This is the first population-based epidemiological study carried out in Spain on children and adolescents with cancer. Centralization of care to a small number of specialized centers and thorough pediatric and oncology team collaboration are needed to improve care and survival for adolescents with cancer in our country. We suggest the creation of specific adolescent tumor boards in main tertiary care hospitals, in which adolescents with cancer can benefit from the shared expertise of medical and pediatric specialists (AU)

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Cancer in children and adolescents in Spain: incidence, treatment setting and provider specialty.

PURPOSE: To analyze cancer incidence, distribution of malignancy, treatment setting and provider specialty of cancer patients, 0-19 years old, in the Comunitat Valenciana, Spain. METHODS/PATIENTS: All incident childhood and adolescent (0-19 years) cancer cases registered in the population-based Comunitat Valenciana Childhood Cancer Registry (RTICV) from 2007 to 2010 were included. Pathological and hematological diagnoses were recoded using the International Classification of Childhood Cancer Third Edition (ICCC-3). Treatment setting and provider specialty were analyzed. RESULTS: 696 patients <20 years were diagnosed with cancer: 513 cases were children (0-14 years) and 183 were adolescents (15-19 years). Overall age-adjusted incidence for 2007-2010 was 176.0 cases per million (95 % CI 162.8-189.2), with incidence being the highest among infants (287.4), followed by 1-4 years (205.5), adolescents (179.9), 10-14 years (150.2) and 5-9 years (140.6). Among adolescents aged 14-19 years, the treatment setting differed by cancer type; 87 % of them were never seen at pediatric oncology units, while 40 % were treated in up to 20 different medical oncology departments in institutions without pediatric oncology expertise. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first population-based epidemiological study carried out in Spain on children and adolescents with cancer. Centralization of care to a small number of specialized centers and thorough pediatric and oncology team collaboration are needed to improve care and survival for adolescents with cancer in our country. We suggest the creation of specific adolescent tumor boards in main tertiary care hospitals, in which adolescents with cancer can benefit from the shared expertise of medical and pediatric specialists.

Histone deacetylase inhibitors promote glioma cell death by G2 checkpoint abrogation leading to mitotic catastrophe.

Glioblastoma multiforme is resistant to conventional anti-tumoral treatments due to its infiltrative nature and capability of relapse; therefore, research efforts focus on characterizing gliomagenesis and identifying molecular targets useful on therapy. New therapeutic strategies are being tested in patients, such as Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) either alone or in combination with other therapies. Here two HDACi included in clinical trials have been tested, suberanilohydroxamic acid (SAHA) and valproic acid (VPA), to characterize their effects on glioma cell growth in vitro and to determine the molecular changes that promote cancer cell death. We found that both HDACi reduce glioma cell viability, proliferation and clonogenicity. They have multiple effects, such as inducing the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and activating the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway, nevertheless cell death is not prevented by the pan-caspase inhibitor Q-VD-OPh. Importantly, we found that HDACi alter cell cycle progression by decreasing the expression of G2 checkpoint kinases Wee1 and checkpoint kinase 1 (Chk1). In addition, HDACi reduce the expression of proteins involved in DNA repair (Rad51), mitotic spindle formation (TPX2) and chromosome segregation (Survivin) in glioma cells and in human glioblastoma multiforme primary cultures. Therefore, HDACi treatment causes glioma cell entry into mitosis before DNA damage could be repaired and to the formation of an aberrant mitotic spindle that results in glioma cell death through mitotic catastrophe-induced apoptosis.