A nationwide survey of common viral infections in childhood among patients with primary immunodeficiency diseases.

OBJECTIVES: Patients with primary immunodeficiency diseases (PID) are highly susceptible to various microorganisms. However, no population-based studies have been performed among common viral pathogens, such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), rotavirus (RV), varicella-zoster virus (VZV) and influenza virus (IV). The objective of this study was to reveal the clinical burden of these four infections among PID patients in Japan. METHODS: We conducted a nationwide survey by sending questionnaires to 898 hospitals with pediatric departments throughout Japan. RESULTS: Nine hundred ten PID patients from 621 hospitals were registered (response rate: 69.2%). Fifty-four of the patients were hospitalized due to these viral infections. The durations of hospitalization due to RSV and RV infections differed significantly in the PID patients with and without cellular immunodeficiency (12.0 vs 6.5 days, p = 0.041; and 14.0 vs 6.0 days, p = 0.031, respectively). There was no significant difference in the duration of hospitalization in PID patients with and without cellular immunodeficiency who were hospitalized with IV infections (7.3 vs 6.1 days, p = 0.53). CONCLUSIONS: Special attention should be paid to PID patients with compromised cellular immunity who present with RSV and RV infection due to their high risk for severe disease.

Quantitative assessment of PTPN11 or RAS mutations at the neonatal period and during the clinical course in patients with juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia.

To evaluate minimal residual disease (MRD) after chemotherapy and haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia (JMML), a locked nucleic acid-allele specific quantitative polymerase chain reaction (LNA-AS-qPCR) was developed for 13 patients (four types of PTPN11 mutation and four types of RAS mutation). The post-transplant MRD detected by LNA-AS-qPCR analysis was well correlated with chimerism assessed by short tandem repeat PCR analysis. Non-intensive chemotherapy exerted no substantial reduction of the tumour burden in three patients. There was no significant difference in the quantity of RAS mutant DNA after spontaneous haematological improvement in 4 patients with NRAS or KRAS 34G > A during a 2- to 5-year follow-up. PTPN11, NRAS, or KRAS mutant DNA was detected from Guthrie card dried blood in five of seven patients (who were aged <2 years at diagnosis) at a level of 1.0-6.5 x 10(-1) of the values at diagnosis. Accordingly, these five patients might have already reached a subclinical status at birth. Considering the negative correlation between mutant DNA level in neonatal blood spots and age at diagnosis, JMML patients with a larger tumour burden at birth appeared to show earlier onset.

Spontaneous improvement of hematologic abnormalities in patients having juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia with specific RAS mutations.

Of 11 children with juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) carrying RAS mutations (8 with NRAS mutations, 3 with KRAS2 mutations), 5 had a profound elevation in either or both the white blood cells and spleen size at diagnosis. Three patients had no or modest hepatosplenomegaly and mild leukocytosis at presentation but subsequently showed a marked increase in spleen size with or without hematologic exacerbation, for which nonintensive chemotherapy was initiated. The other three patients with NRAS or KRAS2 glycine to serine substitution received no chemotherapy, but hematologic improvement has been observed during a 2- to 4-year follow up. In the third group, all hematopoietic cell lineages analyzed had the RAS mutations at the time of hematologic improvement, whereas DNA obtained from the nails had the wild type. Additionally, numbers of circulating granulocyte-macrophage progenitors were significantly reduced during the clinical course. Thus, some patients with JMML with specific RAS mutations may have spontaneously improving disease.

Aggressive hepatectomy for complete remission of metastatic germ cell tumor following chemotherapy: report of a case.

A 12-year-old girl presented with hemoperitoneum caused by disseminated liver tumors accompanying a retroperitoneal germ cell tumor and was rescued by transcatheter hepatic arterial embolization. Following systemic chemotherapy, the liver tumors decreased in size and number, although the retroperitoneal tumor was resistant to therapy. We simultaneously resected the retroperitoneal tumor, and the liver lesions by extended left lobectomy combined with resection of the three major (right, middle, and left) hepatic veins, while preserving the inferior right hepatic vein. The postoperative course was uneventful, and liver regeneration evaluated by serial computed tomography was almost completed by three months following surgery. Pathological examination of the resected tumors revealed benign (mature) teratomas. Since complete removal of tumors critically influences the outcome in patients with mature teratoma, aggressive surgery is advocated for extensive tumors. The present case clearly demonstrated that extended hepatectomy with resection of three major hepatic veins is feasible and provides an opportunity for achieving complete remission in patients with metastatic germ cell tumor of the liver.

Sacrococcygeal chordoma in infancy showing an aggressive clinical course: an autopsy case report.

The autopsy case of a 3-year 6-month-old boy with chordoma arising in the sacrococcygeal region is presented. The primary lesion of the sacrococcygeal area was unresectable and lung metastasis was detected. He was treated with multi-agent systemic chemotherapy and radiation therapy, but the tumor was less responsive to these therapies. He died about one year after first admission. An autopsy revealed a massive sacrococcygeal mass and metastasis in the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, retroperitoneal and mediastinal lymph nodes, and also in the bilateral lungs and liver. Histologically, the tumor was composed of 'pink' cells and scattered 'physaliphorous' cells with a myxoid matrix. Sacrococcygeal chordoma in infancy is very rare. Our case showed a highly aggressive clinical course.

Analysis of the circumstances at the end of life in children with cancer: a single institution's experience in Japan.

BACKGROUND: With the aim of improving the quality of life of children with cancer, this study presents an analysis of one hospital's experience with terminal care. METHODS: Between 1994 and 2000, 28 children died after treatment for cancer at Hamamatsu University Hospital. The circumstances of their deaths were analyzed through medical records and interviews with 8 sets of bereaved parents. We compared results of this analysis with our previous data collected from 1978 to 1993. RESULTS: Of the 28 children, 11 had leukemia/lymphoma (LL group) and 17 had solid tumors (ST group). Six children (21.4%), all of whom were in the LL group, died of treatment-related complications. Twenty children (71.4%) died during terminal care: three (27.3%) were in the LL group and 17 (100%) in the ST group. Eleven children (39.3%) received terminal care at home and eight (28.6%) of these died at home. The number of children who received terminal care and died at home had increased in comparison with the previous period. Among problems with terminal care identified by parents were the lack of opportunity for the child to continue with education and an inadequate support system after the child's death. CONCLUSIONS: Some advances in the quality of life of the children were recognized. However, these advances were extended to a greater percentage of children in the ST group than in the LL group. The psychosocial problems faced by children and their families are now changing for the better.

Analysis of the circumstances at the end of life in children with cancer: symptoms, suffering and acceptance.

BACKGROUND: In an effort to improve the quality of life of children with cancer, this study analyzes the signs and symptoms at the end of life in such children. It is hoped that these data will contribute to the development of appropriate programs to address the challenges faced by these children. PROCEDURE: Between 1994 and 2000, 28 children died after treatment for cancer at Hamamatsu University Hospital, Japan. The circumstances, signs and symptoms at the end of life of these children were analyzed through their medical records. RESULTS: Of the 28 children, the underlying diseases were leukemia/lymphoma (LL group; n=11), brain tumors (BT group; n=7), and other solid tumors (OST group; n=10). Records showed poor appetite (100%), dyspnea (82.1%), pain (75.0%), fatigue (71.4%), nausea/vomiting (57.1%), constipation (46.4%) and diarrhea (21.4%) among these children. Anxiety was reported in 53.6% of the entire group of 28 children; however, no child in the BT group manifested anxiety. However, disturbance of consciousness was reported in all children in the BT group, which was significantly greater than in the other groups. Awareness, fear or acceptance of the imminence of his/her own death as indicated by verbal expression was reported in nine children (32.1%). CONCLUSIONS: Using the data obtained in the present study, we describe situations faced in the terminal care of children. It is important to address the problems revealed by this analysis in order to achieve improvements in both the physical and psychological care of children with terminal cancer.

Two groups of Philadelphia chromosome-positive childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia classified by pretreatment multidrug sensitivity or resistance in in vitro testing.

The development of effective chemotherapy is imperative for children with Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) because of the poor prognosis of this condition. Initial cellular drug resistance is thought to be an important cause of induction failure and early relapse. We carried out in vitro tests using a methyl-thiazol-tetrazolium assay on bone marrow samples from 274 children with newly diagnosed ALL. Sixteen children (5.8%) had Ph-positive results of cytogenetic analysis. We examined in vitro drug resistance to 14 agents and found that leukemic cells in Ph ALL were significantly more resistant than were cells in non-Ph ALL to melphalan, bleomycin, etoposide, mitoxantrone, L-asparaginase, and vinblastine. With the prednisolone, L-asparaginase, and vincristine (PAV) combination of drugs, 10 of the 16 Ph patients with ALL (62.5%) showed relative resistance (RR) (sensitivity to only 1 or to none of the 3 drugs) at initiation of treatment. These 10 patients experienced significantly poorer event-free survival (EFS) than did the 6 patients with supersensitivity (SS) (defined as sensitivity to all 3 or to 2 of the 3 drugs, P = .019). Leukemic cells from RR patients were found to be multiresistant to 12 drugs with 2.0- to 58.4-fold RR compared with cells from SS patients. This PAV sensitivity delineates initially sensitive and resistant groups. Of these, the SS subgroup of Ph ALL patients may be curable with chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation. For EFS improvement in the RR group, it may be necessary to use a new chemotherapy approach from initiation.