Favorable outcome of high-dose chemotherapy and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in patients with nonmetastatic osteosarcoma and low-degree necrosis

Effects of Korean red ginseng on T-cell repopulation after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in childhood cancer patients

Background

Although the survival outcomes of childhood cancer patients have improved, childhood cancer survivors suffer from various degrees of immune dysfunction or delayed immune reconstitution. This study aimed to investigate the effect of Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) on T cell recovery in childhood cancer patients who underwent autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (ASCT) from the perspective of inflammatory and senescent phenotypes.

Methods

This was a single-arm exploratory trial. The KRG group (n = 15) received KRG powder from month 1 to month 12 post-ASCT. We compared the results of the KRG group with those of the control group (n = 23). The proportions of T cell populations, senescent phenotypes, and cytokine production profiles were analyzed at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months post-ASCT using peripheral blood samples.

Results

All patients in the KRG group completed the treatment without any safety issues and showed a comparable T cell repopulation pattern to that in the control group. In particular, KRG administration influenced the repopulation of CD4+ T cells via T cell expansion and differentiation into effector memory cell re-expressing CD45RA (EMRA) cells. Although the KRG group showed an increase in the number of CD4+ EMRA cells, the expression of senescent and exhausted markers in these cells decreased, and the capacity for senescence-related cytokine production in the senescent CD28- subset was ameliorated.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that KRG promotes the repopulation of CD4+ EMRA T cells and regulates phenotypical and functional senescent changes after ASCT in pediatric patients with cancer.

Malignant transformation of an aneurysmal bone cyst of the femoral neck: A case report

Aneurysmal bone cyst (ABC) is a benign, distending, osteolytic and locally aggressive bone tumor that is mostly associated with trauma. Approximately 1% of bone tumors are ABCs, which are most prevalent in adolescents and are usually detected in the spine and long tubular bones. The diagnosis of ABC mainly relies on histopathology, malignant transformation is rare, and the chance of malignancy increases if there are multiple recurrences. Due to the rarity of reports of malignant transformation of ABCs into osteosarcoma, there is still considerable debate on the appropriate treatment strategy. The current paper presents a case of aneurysmal bone cyst malignant to osteosarcoma and the therapeutic measures to provide expertise for the diagnosis and treatment of ABCs that are malignant to osteosarcoma.