Collision tumors in children: a review of the literature and presentation of a rare case of mesoblastic nephroma and neuroblastoma in an infant.

A mass made up of 2 distinct synchronous primary malignant tumors is a rare event in adults, and exceedingly so in children. Such lesions have been called collision tumors. Reported here is an infant who was found to have a collision tumor comprised of a neuroblastoma and a congenital mesoblastic nephroma, in contiguity, in the right kidney. This is the first report of a collision tumor in an infant. This also is the first report of a synchronous occurrence of a neuroblastoma and a congenital mesoblastic nephroma. The authors present this case and discuss the available literature.

Possible association of retinoic acid with bone marrow transplant nephropathy.

Bone marrow transplant (BMT) nephropathy is characterized by the acute onset of nephritis more than 100 days after BMT. The renal lesion in BMT nephropathy is similar to radiation nephritis, but BMT nephropathy occurs earlier and with lower radiation doses than radiation nephritis. The combined effects of chemotherapeutic agents and nephrotoxic drugs given before and after BMT appear to sensitize or unmask radiation nephritis. Reporting of drugs that may contribute to BMT nephropathy is critical for the development of optimal treatment regimens. Herein, we report two cases of BMT nephropathy that developed coincident with retinoic acid therapy. Both patients received autologous BMT for neuroblastoma after preparative therapy with total body irradiation/melphalan/carboplatin/etoposide. They were randomized to receive cis-retinoic acid as part of a clinical trial. Both patients developed acute nephritis during their second 2-week course of retinoic acid on post-BMT days 105 and day 139. The nephritis was associated with hypertension, anemia, thrombocytopenia, azotemia, hematuria, and proteinuria. Clinical features, laboratory evaluation, and renal biopsy indicated that these two patients developed radiation-induced BMT nephropathy. The fact that both patients developed nephritis concurrent with retinoic acid therapy raises a concern that retinoic acid may have unmasked radiation injury and triggered BMT nephropathy.

Bone marrow transplantation in adolescents.

This paper reviews bone marrow transplantation in adolescents. The primary indications for bone marrow transplantation are malignancies, usually relapsed lymphomas or acute/chronic leukemias. Autologous bone marrow transplantation is used as a high-dose consolidation therapy in some solid tumor patients with varied success. Peripheral blood stem cells are a feasible source of autologous stem cells in adolescents. The process of stem cell transplantation and the complications are the same in adolescents as in younger children and adults. Adolescents face the same biologic barriers to allogeneic transplant (minimal residual disease, availability of donor), but may also face more problems with their insurance status. The psychological and social aspects of bone marrow transplantation during adolescence are unique to their developmental stage. With appropriate medical, nursing, and psychosocial support, bone marrow transplantation offers cure for the adolescent with high-risk disease.

Marriage in the survivors of childhood cancer: a preliminary description from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study.

BACKGROUND: The goal of this paper is to provide a preliminary description of the marital status for a large number of childhood cancer survivors participating in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS). PROCEDURE: This report includes children and adolescents (< 21 years of age) diagnosed with cancer between 1970 and 1986 at 25 oncology centers in the United States and Canada who survived at least 5 years from diagnosis. Self-reported data from 10,425 survivors are used in this preliminary descriptive summary. The proportion of survivors ever married and divorced/separated is compared to the U.S. population according to age-specific groups. The median age of the survivor population at diagnosis was 7 years and 26 years at the time martial status was ascertained. Excluded from this assessment are children < 15 years of age at the time of study, those whose martial status was unknown, and those married prior to diagnosis. Data for marital status of the U.S. population, as tabulated in the Bureau of Census 1995 Update, is used as a general comparison to the survivor population. RESULTS: Overall, 32% of the survivors reported being married or living as married, 6% being divorced or separated, 0% being widowed, and 62% having never been married. In general, compared to the U.S. population, survivors were less likely to have ever married, particularly females and whites, but, once married, were less likely to divorce/separate, again particularly females and whites. Black survivors were generally found to be more likely to have married, with males and blacks more likely to divorce/separate once married. Comparison of childhood tumor types suggested that survivors of CNS tumors, particularly males, were less likely to have ever married and more likely to divorce/separate compared to those with other cancer diagnoses and the general U.S. population. CONCLUSIONS: This interim evaluation of the CCSS cohort provided preliminary data describing a suggested decreased likelihood of marriage, which may be influenced by gender and/or race. These patterns must be confirmed within the entire CCSS cohort and comparisons made with an appropriate sibling comparison group before making final conclusions.

Mobilization of peripheral blood stem cells in children using G-CSF after carboplatin containing myelosuppressive chemotherapy.

PURPOSE: Peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) apheresis provides an alternative to autologous marrow harvest as a source of hematologic stem cells for transplantation in children with solid tumors. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Eight children with metastatic or recurrent solid tumors underwent 27 apheresis procedures. Recovery from myelosuppressive chemotherapy occurred without continuous daily growth factor support prior to mobilization. Granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) at 16 microgs/kg/day was used to increase stem cells in the peripheral circulation. CD 34 positive cells, mononuclear cells (MNC), and CFU-GM were measured in the apheresis products. Prior chemotherapy was examined as a clinical factor that affected PBSC yield. RESULTS: A significant correlation was found between CD 34+/kg and CFU-GM/kg of the products (r = 0.758, P < 0.001). Patients receiving cumulative doses of carboplatin over 1,600 mg/m2 produced adequate MNC (1 x 10(8)/kg) but yielded significantly less CD 34+ cells or CFU-GM than those patients receiving less carboplatin. Prior doses of etoposide and ifosfamide did not effect PBSC yield. CONCLUSIONS: The mobilization technique was well tolerated, and the products obtained produced trilineage engraftment in the patients that underwent peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. Peripheral blood stem cell apheresis in children can be optimized by selection of appropriate candidates and mobilization with G-CSF after an absence of hematopoietic growth factor support.

The National Cancer Data Base report on patterns of childhood cancers in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Patterns of and progress against childhood cancer have been reported on multi-institution, regional, national, and international bases by several sources in the past. These sources have included clinical cooperative group trials and population-based registries. In general, the population-based surveys have excluded brain tumors of either benign or uncertain behavior. The authors of this article investigated the patterns of data reported for the period 1985-1993, motivated by their interest in assessing the potential of National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) data to 1) facilitate individual institution review and 2) cover institutions that are not members of the Pediatric Oncology Group or the Children's Cancer Group, which are both national clinical cooperative groups. METHODS: Six annual calls for data, starting with a call for 1985 and 1988 cases, were issued to approximately 2100 hospitals with cancer programs (1340 programs approved by the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons and 760 other programs). The baseline data items of the NCDB included patient demography, tumor characteristics, initial treatment, and follow-up. The data for each patient were coded in the traditional manner by trained cancer registrars before being transmitted to the NCDB in standard format. RESULTS: In the most recent year for which data were reported, the NCDB included 42% of all estimated U.S. childhood cancers. The cases were reported by institutions that were members of the Pediatric Oncology Group and the Children's Cancer Group as well as nonmember institutions. The distribution of diagnostic groups reported to the NCDB was generally similar to that reported to SEER, except for lymphomas and brain cancer (the NCDB series included benign as well as malignant brain tumors). The distribution of diagnostic groups reported to the NCDB did not change over the 9-year reporting period (1985-1993). With regard to ethnicity, the most varied distribution of diagnostic groups was found among African American patients. For many types of cancer, the survival of those patients reported to the NCDB was similar to that of patients included in the SEER population-based series. These cancers included Wilms' tumor (NCDB 89% vs. SEER 88%), non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NCDB 74% vs. SEER 70%), soft tissue sarcomas (NCDB rhabdomyosarcomas 70% and sarcomas 79% vs. SEER soft tissue sarcomas 71%), and neuroblastoma (NCDB 58% vs. SEER 57%). CONCLUSIONS: The authors concluded that the number of brain tumors of benign and uncertain behavior being diagnosed were significant enough in number that they should be included in regional and national cancer registries that report data for clinical purposes. They further concluded that for reasons of data inclusion and institutional coverage, the NCDB will be an important data base for pediatric cancers that will warrant increased use by pediatric investigators.

Acute transient hemolytic anemia with a positive Donath-Landsteiner test following parvovirus B19 infection.

PURPOSE: A case of childhood acute hemolytic anemia following parvovirus infection provided an hypothesis for the high frequency of Donath-Landsteiner antibodies and inappropriately low reticulocyte counts in this disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A 3-year-old boy with hematuria and jaundice was found to have autoimmune hemolytic anemia due to a biphasic IgG Donath-Landsteiner antibody. Despite profound anemia (hematocrit 14.5%), the reticulocyte count was low (1.0%) and examination of his normocellular bone marrow showed erythroid hypoplasia. RESULTS: A clinical diagnosis 2 weeks earlier of acute parvovirus B19 was serologically confirmed as the associated antecedent infection. Hemolytic anemia resolved with packed red cell transfusion, and intravenous immune globulin and steroid treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The high-frequency red cell P antigen is both the unusual specificity of Donath-Landsteiner antibody and the viral receptor for parvovirus infection of red cell precursors. We speculate that interaction of the virus with its receptor may change antigenicity such that anti-P autoantibody forms. Parvovirus B19 may be a primary cause of reticulocytopenic postinfectious hemolytic anemia in children.