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How Genetics and Genomics Advances Are Rewriting Pediatric Cancer Research and Clinical Care. Medicina (B Aires) 2022; 58:medicina58101386. [PMID: 36295546 PMCID: PMC9610804 DOI: 10.3390/medicina58101386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2022] [Revised: 09/28/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
In the last two decades, thanks to the data that have been obtained from the Human Genome Project and the development of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies, research in oncology has produced extremely important results in understanding the genomic landscape of pediatric cancers, which are the main cause of death during childhood. NGS has provided significant advances in medicine by detecting germline and somatic driver variants that determine the development and progression of many types of cancers, allowing a distinction between hereditary and non-hereditary cancers, characterizing resistance mechanisms that are also related to alterations of the epigenetic apparatus, and quantifying the mutational burden of tumor cells. A combined approach of next-generation technologies allows us to investigate the numerous molecular features of the cancer cell and the effects of the environment on it, discovering and following the path of personalized therapy to defeat an "ancient" disease that has had victories and defeats. In this paper, we provide an overview of the results that have been obtained in the last decade from genomic studies that were carried out on pediatric cancer and their contribution to the more accurate and faster diagnosis in the stratification of patients and the development of new precision therapies.
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Medulloblastoma and Down Syndrome: An Extremely Rare Association. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol 2022; 44:415-418. [PMID: 35704799 DOI: 10.1097/mph.0000000000002448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 02/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Medulloblastoma has a reduced incidence in Down syndrome (DS). This protective characteristic has not been clarified yet. Here, we report the second case of SHH medulloblastoma and DS documented in the literature. A complete surgery was performed followed by reduced craniospinal irradiation dose and adjuvant chemotherapy. No evidence of tumor recurrence was observed. The overall survival was 9.1 years. No family history or physical stigma of other hereditary predisposition syndrome was found. In the elucidation of this extremely rare association, future case reports play an important role in defining the spectrum of brain tumors and their peculiar features in DS.
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Ranalli M, Boni A, Caroleo AM, Del Baldo G, Rinelli M, Agolini E, Rossi S, Miele E, Colafati GS, Boccuto L, Alessi I, De Ioris MA, Cacchione A, Capolino R, Carai A, Vennarini S, Mastronuzzi A. Molecular Characterization of Medulloblastoma in a Patient with Neurofibromatosis Type 1: Case Report and Literature Review. Diagnostics (Basel) 2021; 11:diagnostics11040647. [PMID: 33918520 PMCID: PMC8067061 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics11040647] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2021] [Revised: 03/27/2021] [Accepted: 03/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Brain tumors are the most common solid neoplasms of childhood. They are frequently reported in children with Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). The most frequent central nervous system malignancies described in NF1 are optic pathway gliomas and brainstem gliomas. Medulloblastoma (MB) in NF1 patients is extremely rare, and to our knowledge, only 10 cases without molecular characterization are described in the literature to date. We report the case of a 14-year-old girl with NF1 that came to our attention for an incidental finding of a lesion arising from cerebellar vermis. The mass was completely resected, revealing a localized classic medulloblastoma (MB), subgroup 4. She was treated as a standard-risk MB with a dose-adapted personalized protocol. The treatment proved to be effective, with minor toxicity. Brain and spine MRI one year after diagnosis confirmed the complete remission of the disease. To our knowledge, this is the only case of MB reported in a patient with NF1 with molecular characterization by the methylation profile. The association between NF1 and MB, although uncommon, may not be an accidental occurrence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Ranalli
- Department of Pediatrics, Sapienza University, Viale Regina Elena 324, 00161 Rome, Italy; (M.R.); (A.B.); (E.M.)
| | - Alessandra Boni
- Department of Pediatrics, Sapienza University, Viale Regina Elena 324, 00161 Rome, Italy; (M.R.); (A.B.); (E.M.)
| | - Anna Maria Caroleo
- Department of Onco-Hematology and Cell and Gene Therapy, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital (IRCCS), 00165 Rome, Italy; (A.M.C.); (G.D.B.); (I.A.); (M.A.D.I.); (A.C.)
| | - Giada Del Baldo
- Department of Onco-Hematology and Cell and Gene Therapy, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital (IRCCS), 00165 Rome, Italy; (A.M.C.); (G.D.B.); (I.A.); (M.A.D.I.); (A.C.)
| | - Martina Rinelli
- Laboratory of Medical Genetics, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital (IRCCS), 00165 Rome, Italy; (M.R.); (E.A.)
| | - Emanuele Agolini
- Laboratory of Medical Genetics, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital (IRCCS), 00165 Rome, Italy; (M.R.); (E.A.)
| | - Sabrina Rossi
- Pathology Unit, Department of Laboratories, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital (IRCCS), 00165 Rome, Italy;
| | - Evelina Miele
- Department of Pediatrics, Sapienza University, Viale Regina Elena 324, 00161 Rome, Italy; (M.R.); (A.B.); (E.M.)
| | - Giovanna Stefania Colafati
- Neuroradiology Unit, Department of Imaging, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital (IRCCS), 00165 Rome, Italy;
| | - Luigi Boccuto
- School of Nursing, College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences Healthcare Genetics Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29631, USA;
| | - Iside Alessi
- Department of Onco-Hematology and Cell and Gene Therapy, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital (IRCCS), 00165 Rome, Italy; (A.M.C.); (G.D.B.); (I.A.); (M.A.D.I.); (A.C.)
| | - Maria Antonietta De Ioris
- Department of Onco-Hematology and Cell and Gene Therapy, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital (IRCCS), 00165 Rome, Italy; (A.M.C.); (G.D.B.); (I.A.); (M.A.D.I.); (A.C.)
| | - Antonella Cacchione
- Department of Onco-Hematology and Cell and Gene Therapy, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital (IRCCS), 00165 Rome, Italy; (A.M.C.); (G.D.B.); (I.A.); (M.A.D.I.); (A.C.)
| | - Rossella Capolino
- Medical Genetics Unit, Bambino Gesù Children Hospital, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital (IRCCS), 00165 Rome, Italy;
| | - Andrea Carai
- Neurosurgery Unit, Department of Neurosciences, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital (IRCCS), 00165 Rome, Italy;
| | - Sabina Vennarini
- Proton Therapy Center, Hospital of Trento, Azienda Provinciale per I Servizi Sanitari (APSS), 38122 Trento, Italy;
| | - Angela Mastronuzzi
- Department of Onco-Hematology and Cell and Gene Therapy, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital (IRCCS), 00165 Rome, Italy; (A.M.C.); (G.D.B.); (I.A.); (M.A.D.I.); (A.C.)
- Correspondence:
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