BACKGROUND As children comprise a considerable proportion of our population, the importance of local epidemiologic research and geographic and racial differences can't be disputed on childhood malignancies. METHODS In this descriptive retrospective study, we extensively reviewed the medical records of patients younger than 15 years of age, diagnosed with solid malignant tumors, from 1996 to 2...

UNLABELLED SPECT has the potential to add valuable information to the diagnosis and management of central nervous system (CNS) malignancy. Radioactive tracers including (99m)Tc-methoxyisobutylisonitrile (MIBI), or sestamibi, have been shown to be sensitive markers for brain tumors; however, their role in imaging children is poorly defined. METHODS We undertook a pilot study of 29 pairs of (99...

Gene therapy using viral vectors has to date failed to reveal its definitive clinical usefulness. Cell encapsulation technology represents an alternative, nonviral approach for the delivery of biologically active compounds to tumors. This strategy involves the use of genetically engineered producer cells that secrete a protein with therapeutic potential. The cells are encapsulated in an immunoi...

UNLABELLED We reviewed our experience of (18)F-FDG PET/CT in noncentral nervous system (CNS) pediatric malignancies and evaluated if PET/CT provided additional information to conventional imaging (CI) examinations to determine the efficacy of this new imaging modality in the clinical setting. METHODS One-hundred fifty-one consecutive FDG PET/CT examinations in 55 pediatric patients with non-C...

We describe a two- year old boy who was diagnosed with pre-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). He developed a central nervous system (CNS) relapse with optic nerve involvement. Initially he was treated according to the ALL relapse protocol, including CNS radiotherapy. Despite an initial complete reponse, relapse occurred within six weeks of treatment. The leukemic blast cells were CD-20 posit...

BACKGROUND Bevacizumab is a recombinant antibody that is increasingly used in pediatric malignancies. The pharmacokinetics of bevacizumab in pediatric patients have been shown to be influenced by tumor localization and body weight. In this report, we present data on the pharmacokinetics and safety of bevacizumab in children under the age of 3 years with central nervous system (CNS) malignancies...

Childhood cancer survivors exposed to CNS irradiation are at increased risk for neurocognitive deficits; however, limited data exist linking outcomes with region-specific exposure to CNS irradiation. We report associations between region-specific radiation dose and self-reported neurocognitive and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) outcomes in 818 adult survivors of childhood central nervou...