Outcome of modified St Jude total therapy 13A for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia in the southeast region of Turkey

The results of the modified St Jude Total Therapy XV Protocol in the treatment of low- and middle-income children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia

The St Jude Total Therapy Study XV was the first clinical trial to prospectively use minimal residual disease levels during and after remission induction therapy to guide risk-directed treatment. We used the Total Therapy XV protocol with minimal modification in treating 115 newly diagnosed pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients from low- and middle-income groups from January 2011 to December 2017. The mean age at diagnosis was 5.97 ± 3.96 years. The median follow-up period was 88 months. Three (2.6%) patients had bone marrow relapse, and one (0.87%) had an isolated central nervous system relapse. Nineteen of the patients (16.52%) died due to infection-related complications, three (2.61%) died due to progressive disease, and one (0.87%) died due to hematopoietic stem cell transplant complications. Five-year overall survival was 80%, and event-free survival was 78.3%. Our results showed that the Total XV treatment protocol could be used successfully in patients with ALL from low- and middle-income populations. However, infection-related deaths remain a significant problem.

Integration of Interleukin-6 Improves the Diagnostic Precision of Metagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing for Infection in Immunocompromised Children

The performance of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) in identifying pathogens in immunocompromised children was not very clear. The purpose of this study is to assess the performance of mNGS in this population and to investigate whether the integration of serum cytokines and mNGS assay could improve diagnostic accuracy. We retrospectively collected the clinical data of pediatric patients who suffered febrile diseases and underwent mNGS determination simultaneously in the department of hematology/oncology between January 2019 and March 2021. Specimens were sent for conventional microbiological test (CMT), mNGS, and serum cytokine measurement in parallel. A total of 258 episodes of febrile diseases were enrolled, mNGS was positive in 224 cases, while CMT was positive in 78 cases. mNGS and CMT were both positive in 70 (27.1%) cases and were both negative in 26 (10.1%) cases. There were 154 (59.7%) cases positive by mNGS only while 8 (3.1%) were positive by CMT only. It was common that two or more pathogens were simultaneously detected by mNGS in a single specimen, with only 61 tests identified a single organism. Whether the organisms reported by mNGS were the microbiological etiology of infection was evaluated. Of the 224 cases with positive mNGS results, 135 (58.4%), 30 (13.0%), and 59 (28.6%) were considered as "probable," "possible," and "unlikely," respectively. Patients with high IL-6 (≥ 390 pg/ml) were likely to be bacterial infection. Although mNGS reported mixed pathogens, 84.6% (33/39) and 83.3% (10/12) of patients presenting high IL-6 were confirmed as bacterial infection in the training and validation cohort, respectively. In conclusion, mNGS analysis demonstrates promising diagnostic potential in rapidly identifying clinically relevant pathogens. Given the detection of many clinically irrelevant organisms, the integration of IL-6 improves the precision of mNGS results interpretation.

Treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia in Iraq: a 17-year experience from a single center

We performed a retrospective analysis of 1415 acute lymphoblastic leukemia children diagnosed between January 2000 and December 2016 at Children Welfare Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq. Patients were divided into three cohorts according to treatment period (2000-2005; 2006-2011; 2012-2016). Treatments were based on modified-UKALL protocols; a steroid-pre-phase was introduced from September 2008. The overall complete remission was 86%, increased from 80% to 91% in the last period. Early deaths occurred in 10%, decreasing to 6%, overtime. Relapses were 23%; toxic deaths and abandonment 8% and 13%, respectively. At a median follow-up of 65.3 months, with abandonment considered as an event, the 5-year overall survival (OS) and event-free survival were 62.2% and 46.3%, statistically influenced by treatment period (5-year OS 62.6%, 59.1%, 66.3%; p=.057, respectively). Though pediatric ALL survival in Iraq is still below that observed in high income countries, survival rates progressively improved. Toxic deaths remain an important cause of failure.

Economics of Pediatric Cancer in Four Eastern Mediterranean Countries: A Comparative Assessment

PURPOSE

Cancer is a leading cause of death among children in the Eastern Mediterranean region, where conflict and economic downturn place additional burden on the health sector. In this context, using economic evidence to inform policy decisions is crucial for maximizing health outcomes from available resources. We summarized the available evidence on the economics of pediatric cancer in Jordan, Lebanon, the occupied Palestinian territory, and Turkey.

METHODS

A scoping review was performed of seven academic databases and gray literature pertaining to pediatric cancer in the four jurisdictions, published between January 1, 2010, and July 17, 2019. Information was extracted and organized using an analytical framework that synthesizes economic information on four dimensions: the context of the health system, the economics of health care inputs, the economics of service provision, and the economic consequences of disease.

RESULTS

Most of the economic evidence available across the four jurisdictions pertains to the availability of health care inputs (ie, drugs, human resources, cancer registration data, and treatment protocols) and individual-level outcomes (either clinical or health-related quality of life). We identified little evidence on the efficiency or quality of health care inputs and of pediatric cancer services. Moreover, we identified no studies examining the cost-effectiveness of any intervention, program, or treatment protocol. Evidence on the economic consequences of pediatric cancer on families and the society at large was predominantly qualitative.

CONCLUSION

The available economic evidence on pediatric cancer care in the four countries is limited to resource availability and, to an extent, patient outcomes, with a substantial gap in information on drug quality, service provision efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. Links between researchers and policymakers must be strengthened if pediatric cancer spending decisions, and, ultimately, treatment outcomes, are to improve.

Septicemia after chemotherapy for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia in China: A multicenter study CCCG-ALL-2015

BACKGROUND

Septicemia is an important cause of treatment-related mortality and treatment failure in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in developing countries. A multicenter CCCG-ALL-2015 study was conducted in China and factors associated with septicemia and mortality were studied.

METHODS

Patients participated in CCCG-ALL-2015 study from January 2015 to December 2017 were included. Patients with documented septicemia were identified from the Data Center and additional data were collected.

RESULTS

A total of 4080 patients were recruited in the study and 527 patients with septicemia were identified (12.9%, 95% CI 11.9%-13.9%). The intermediate risk (IR)/high risk (HR) group had significantly higher incidence of septicemia as compared with low risk (LR) group, 17.1% vs 9.1% (OR 2.07, 95% CI 1.71-2.49, P < .001). Induction phase was the period with majority of septicemia episodes happened, 66.8% in LR and 56.1% in IR/HR groups. Gram-positive bacteria accounted for 54.1%, gram-negative bacteria 44.5%, and fungus 1.4% of positive cultures. Multidrug-resistant organisms were detected in 20.5% of all organisms. The mortality rate after septicemia was 3.4% (95% CI 1.9%-4.9%). Multiple logistic regression identified female gender, comorbid complications, and fungal infection as risk factors associated with mortality. Gram-negative septicemia was associated with higher mortality, 4.9% vs 1.4% (OR 0.28, 95% CI 0.09-0.88, P = .02). There was marked variation in the incidence of septicemia among the 18 centers, from 4.8% to 29.1%.

CONCLUSION

Overall the incidence and pattern of septicemia in this multicenter study in China was similar to the reports of western countries. The septicemia-related mortality rate was low. There was marked variation in the incidence of septicemia among the centers.

Long-Term Outcomes of Modified St Jude Children's Research Hospital Total Therapy XIIIB and XV Protocols for Thai Children With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

BACKGROUND

We studied long-term outcomes and prognostic features of Thai children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated with modified St Jude Children's Research Hospital (SJCRH) protocols.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Pediatric patients newly diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia were included. From 1997 to 2003, the first group received modified Total Therapy XIIIB (previous protocol). From 2004 to 2014, the latter had modified Total Therapy XV (current protocol).

RESULTS

In 250 patients, the event-free survival rates (± standard error) of the previous protocol (n = 95) were 82.8 ± 3.9%, 81.7 ± 4.0%, and 81.7 ± 4.0% at 5, 10, and 15 years, respectively; current protocol event-free survival rates (n = 155) were 84 ± 3.0%, 80.8 ± 3.4%, and 80.8 ± 3.4%, respectively. Previous protocol overall survival rates for the same years were 89.2 ± 3.2%, 84.8 ± 3.8%, and 84.8 ± 3.8%, and for the current protocol were 90 ± 2.5%, 86.9 ± 3.2%, and 83.7 ± 4.4%. Previous protocol relapses were 10.5% (10 patients), with 7 having isolated hematologic and 3 isolated/combined central nervous system relapses. Current protocol relapses were 9.7% (15 patients), with 7 having isolated hematologic, 6 isolated/combined central nervous system, and 2 extramedullary relapses. Patients with leukocyte counts over 100 × 10⁹/L and who had disease classified as high risk had worse event-free survival using the previous protocol. However, only initial leukocyte counts of ≥ 100 × 10⁹/L predicted adverse outcomes under the current protocol. Minimal residual disease positivity was a prognostic factor of worse overall survival only for previous protocol patients.

CONCLUSION

Favorable outcomes of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia occurred using adapted SJCRH protocols, perhaps because of multidisciplinary care teams and improved parent advocacy. Inferior outcomes might be prevented by addressing predictive factors to ameliorate monitoring and care.

Bone Loss in Pediatric Survivors of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Objective

Bone mineral density (BMD) in children may be negatively affected by acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) or its treatment protocol. The aim of our study was to evaluate bone health by measuring BMD after ALL treatment.

Materials and Methods

The age, anthropometric measurements, and lumbar spine BMDs were recorded in 39 pediatric survivors of ALL, with no history of relapse, secondary malignancy, or transplantation. The lumbar spine BMD was measured by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. The BMD risk factors, pubertal status, age at diagnosis, risk category, the time interval from the completion of the chemotherapy, and cranial radiotherapy were investigated. Serum calcium, phosphate, alkaline phosphates, magnesium, parathormone, and 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels were determined.

Results

The mean BMD value was calculated as 0.668±0.176 g/cm². Osteopenia and osteoporosis were detected in nine patients (23.1%) and three patients (7.7%), respectively, according to previously published data of healthy age- and sex-related Turkish children's BMD values. The mean age at diagnosis of patients with ALL, having the Z-score above -1 was lower than in patients having bone defect (Z score <-1).

Conclusion

Early detection and intervention strategies to optimize bone health are essential in pediatric patients with ALL.