Pediatric TAFRO syndrome: A multi-institution case series illustrating clinical challenges and excellent outcomes.

A rare lymphoproliferative disorder involving thrombocytopenia (T), anasarca (A), fever (F), reticulin fibrosis (R), renal dysfunction (R), and organomegaly (O), called TAFRO syndrome, was first reported in 2010. Considered a variant of idiopathic multicentric Castleman's disease, the recent discovery and rarity of this syndrome pose challenges to diagnosis and management. Herein, we review three pediatric cases, including an infant, that illustrate the heterogeneity of TAFRO syndrome. Despite differences in presentation and treatment responses, all patients experienced excellent outcomes. This multi-institutional case series highlights the need to work toward earlier diagnosis and improved long-term management recommendations for patients with TAFRO syndrome.

Maternal Body Mass Index, Diabetes, and Gestational Weight Gain and Risk for Pediatric Cancer in Offspring: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric cancer incidence has steadily increased concurrent with rising adult obesity, but associations between maternal obesity and associated comorbidities and pediatric cancer risk remain understudied. We aimed to quantitatively characterize associations of pediatric cancer risk with maternal prepregnancy body mass index (BMI), gestational weight gain, and maternal diabetes. METHODS: We performed a comprehensive and systematic literature search in Ovid and EMBASE from their inception to March 15, 2021. Eligible studies reported risk estimates and sample sizes and provided sufficient description of outcome and exposure ascertainment. Random effects models were used to estimate pooled effects. RESULTS: Thirty-four studies were included in the analysis. Prepregnancy BMI was positively associated with leukemia risk in offspring (odds ratio [OR] per 5-unit BMI increase =1.07, 95% confidence intervals [CI] = 1.04 to 1.11; I2 = 0.0%). Any maternal diabetes was positively associated with acute lymphoblastic leukemia risk (OR = 1.46, 95% CI = 1.28 to 1.67; I2 = 0.0%), even after restricting to birthweight-adjusted analyses (OR = 1.74, 95% CI = 1.29 to 2.34; I2 = 0.0%), and inversely associated with risk of central nervous system tumors (OR = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.55 to 0.97; I2 = 0.0%). Pregestational diabetes (OR = 1.57, 95% CI = 1.11 to 2.24; I2 = 26.8%) and gestational diabetes (OR = 1.40, 95% CI = 1.12 to 1.75; I2 = 0.0%) were also positively associated with acute lymphoblastic leukemia risk. No statistically significant associations were observed for gestational weight gain. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal obesity and diabetes may be etiologically linked to pediatric cancer, particularly leukemia and central nervous system tumors. Our findings support weight management and glycemic control as important components of maternal and offspring health. Further validation is warranted.

Hematologic Complications Associated With Intra-arterial Chemotherapy for Retinoblastoma Treatment: A Single Institution Experience.

Retinoblastoma (RB) is the most common intraocular pediatric malignancy. Advancements in intra-arterial chemotherapy (IAC) for treatment of RB have resulted in dramatic improvement in eye salvage rates. Data regarding IAC outcomes and associated hematologic toxicities are limited. The objective of this retrospective study was to analyze baseline characteristics, efficacy, and hematologic complications associated with IAC treatment in children with RB at a single international referral institution. Ninety-five sessions of IAC were performed in 28 patients. Mean age at RB diagnosis was 12.5 months (SD, 9.2 mo). Fourteen patients had bilateral RB. IAC agents included melphalan, carboplatin, and topotecan. The most common regimens were triple-agent IAC and single-agent melphalan (66.3% and 15.8%, respectively). Median number of IAC sessions was 3 (mean: 3.39, range: 1 to 9). Eye salvage rate was 83.7% with an overall survival rate of 100% at a median follow-up of 29 months (mean: 29.8 mo, range: 1 to 63 mo). A total of 26 patients (92.9%) experienced at least 1 hematologic toxicity during their treatment course Prevalence of neutropenia, anemia, and thrombocytopenia were 89.3%, 85.7%, and 25%, respectively. While IAC is effective in salvaging most eyes with advanced intraocular RB, over half of patients experienced clinically significant neutropenia and anemia. Clinicians should be vigilant in monitoring patients for IAC-related complications.

Role of Precision Medicine in Pediatric Oncology.

Childhood cancer is the leading cause of nonaccidental death in children and adolescents. Over the past 50 years, development of novel therapies and improvements in supportive care have led to improvements in long-term survival rates. However, there remains great morbidity associated with cancer treatment among childhood cancer survivors, and the outcomes for patients who relapse remain poor. The introduction of precision medicine, an approach that uses the understanding of genetic and biochemical profiles of a disease (as enabled by next-generation sequencing) to tailor treatment to a patient, has quickly started to change the diagnostic and therapeutic landscape of pediatric oncology. With its use, a better understanding of tumor biology, improved classification systems for various cancers, and genetically and molecularly targeted therapeutic strategies have been developed. We review the implementation of precision medicine in pediatric oncology and its effect on diagnosis, management, and treatment of pediatric cancers. [Pediatr Ann. 2022;51(1):e8-e14.].

Lung Cancer as a Subsequent Malignant Neoplasm in Survivors of Childhood Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer, the most common cause of cancer-related death in adults, has not been well studied as a subsequent malignant neoplasm (SMN) in childhood cancer survivors. We assessed prevalence, risk factors, and outcomes for lung SMN in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS) cohort. METHODS: Among 25,654 5-year survivors diagnosed with childhood cancer (<21 years), lung cancer was self-reported and confirmed by pathology record review. Standardized incidence ratios (SIR) and cumulative incidences were calculated, comparing survivors to the general population, and hazard ratios (HR) were estimated using Cox regression for diagnosis and treatment exposures. RESULTS: Forty-two survivors developed a lung SMN [SIR, 4.0; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.9-5.4] with a cumulative incidence of 0.16% at 30 years from diagnosis (95% CI, 0.09%-0.23%). In a treatment model, chest radiation doses of 10-30 Gy (HR, 3.4; 95% CI, 1.05-11.0), >30-40 Gy (HR, 4.6; 95% CI, 1.5-14.3), and >40 Gy (HR, 9.1; 95% CI, 3.1-27.0) were associated with lung SMN, with a monotone dose trend (P trend < 0.001). Survivors of Hodgkin lymphoma (SIR, 9.3; 95% CI, 6.2-13.4) and bone cancer (SIR, 4.4; 95% CI, 1.8-9.1) were at greatest risk for lung SMN. CONCLUSIONS: Survivors of childhood cancer are at increased risk for lung cancer compared with the general population. Greatest risk was observed among survivors who received chest radiotherapy or with primary diagnoses of Hodgkin lymphoma or bone cancer. IMPACT: This study describes the largest number of observed lung cancers in childhood cancer survivors and elucidates need for further study in this aging and growing population.

Body mass index associated with childhood and adolescent high-risk B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia risk: A Children's Oncology Group report.

BACKGROUND: Obesity is a risk factor for many adulthood cancers, but its role in childhood, adolescent, and young adult (AYA) cancer is unknown. Childhood and AYA acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) incidence and obesity prevalence have shown concurrent increases. We sought to identify whether obesity may be a risk factor for childhood and AYA ALL. METHODS: Characteristics from individuals with ALL, aged 2-30 years, diagnosed 2004-2017 and treated on Children's Oncology Group (COG) protocols with available pre-treatment anthropometric data (N = 4726) were compared to National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey controls (COG AALL17D2). Body mass index (BMI) was defined using standard CDC definitions. Multivariate conditional logistic regression assessed associations between BMI and ALL with additional analyses stratified by sex and race/ethnicity. RESULTS: Among cases (72% high-risk (HR) B-ALL, 28% T-ALL), 5% had underweight, 58% normal weight, 17% overweight, and 20% obesity. Underweight (OR 2.11, 95% CI 1.56-2.85) and obesity (OR 1.32, 95% CI 1.15-1.53) were associated with B-ALL diagnosis. Specifically, obesity was associated with B-ALL among males (OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.30-1.91) and Hispanic children (OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.39-2.29). Obesity was also associated with central nervous system (CNS) involvement. CONCLUSION: Pre-treatment obesity is associated with HR B-ALL among males and Hispanics, as well as with CNS involvement, suggesting common physiology between obesity and leukemogenesis. An association between underweight and ALL was confirmed, likely due to cancer-associated wasting. These results have important public health implications for obesity prevention and treatment in children and adolescents to reduce cancer risk.

Expansion of human regulatory T-cells from patients with type 1 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: Regulatory T-cells (Tregs) have catalyzed the field of immune regulation. However, translating Treg-based therapies from animal models of autoimmunity to human clinical trials requires robust methods for the isolation and expansion of these cells-a need forming the basis for these studies. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Tregs from recent-onset type 1 diabetic patients and healthy control subjects were isolated by fluorescence-activated cell sorting and compared for their capacity to expand in vitro in response to anti-CD3-anti-CD28-coated microbeads and IL-2. Expanded cells were examined for suppressive function, lineage markers and FOXP3, and cytokine production. RESULTS: Both CD4+CD127(lo/-) and CD4+CD127(lo/-)CD25+ T-cells could be expanded and used as Tregs. However, expansion of CD4+CD127(lo/-) cells required the addition of rapamycin to maintain lineage purity. In contrast, expansion of CD4+CD127(lo/-)CD25+ T-cells, especially the CD45RA+ subset, resulted in high yield, functional Tregs that maintained higher FOXP3 expression in the absence of rapamycin. Tregs from type 1 diabetic patients and control subjects expanded similarly and were equally capable of suppressing T-cell proliferation. Regulatory cytokines were produced by Tregs after culture; however, a portion of FOXP3+ cells were capable of producing interferon (IFN)-gamma after reactivation. IFN-gamma production was observed from both CD45RO+ and CD45RA+ Treg populations. CONCLUSIONS: The results support the feasibility of isolating Tregs for in vitro expansion. Based on expansion capacity, FOXP3 stability, and functional properties, the CD4+CD127(lo/-)CD25+ T-cells represent a viable cell population for cellular therapy in this autoimmune disease.