0000000000134669
AUTHOR
Ursula Creutzig
Early deaths from childhood cancer in Germany 1980-2016
Abstract Background Even though the survival of childhood cancer has improved over the last decades, there are still children dying shortly after diagnosis. The aim of the study is to add to understanding of the reasons for deaths shortly after date of diagnosis. Methods Using data of the population-based German Childhood Cancer Registry (cancer below 15 years of age diagnosed between 1980 and 2016), we compared characteristics of 671 children with cancer who died within 30 days of diagnosis to 53,649 patients with childhood cancer who survived longer. In addition to a descriptive analysis, we used logistic regression with multivariable fractional polynomials to describe the relationship be…
Health status, health-related quality of life, and socioeconomic outcome in childhood brain tumor survivors: a German cohort study
Abstract Background With rising numbers of childhood cancer survivors, somatic and socioeconomic outcome as well as health-related quality of life (QoL) gain increasing relevance. Based on the first nationwide German Survey on Life Situation, State of Health, and Quality of Life of Childhood Cancer Survivors, the VIVE survey, we report the outcome of survivors of childhood brain tumors localized in the posterior fossa. Methods Two hundred seventy participants with a median follow-up period of 21.9 years completed a questionnaire on socioeconomic and somatic late effects as well as a standardized QoL questionnaire (European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30). Comparis…
First experience of the AML-Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster group in pediatric patients with standard-risk acute promyelocytic leukemia treated with arsenic trioxide and all-trans retinoid acid
Recently, studies in adults with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) showed high cure rates in low-risk patients treated with all-trans retinoid acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (ATO), while toxicities were significantly reduced compared to the standard treatment with ATRA and chemotherapy. Here we report about first experience with 11 pediatric patients with low-risk APL treated with ATRA and ATO. All patients stayed in molecular remission. All suffered from hyperleukocytosis. Two patients experienced reversible severe side effects. One suffered from osteonecroses at both femurs, seizures, as well as posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome, the other patient had an abducens paresis.
Predictors of Early Death in Childhood Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia: Results of an International Retrospective Study
Abstract Background: Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a rare subtype of childhood acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Bleeding complications occur in 80% of patients at diagnosis and contribute to a higher incidence of early death (ED) in APL compared to other AML subtypes. However, estimates of ED in pediatric APL are imprecise and factors associated with ED in children with APL are unknown. Objectives: To determine the incidence and predictors of ED, defined as death within 60 days from presentation, in childhood APL. Methods: We conducted a retrospective international analysis of children diagnosed with APL between January 1993 and December 2013. The study included 236 patients from the I…