0000000000135975
AUTHOR
Gabriele Calaminus
showing 11 related works from this author
Health status, health-related quality of life, and socioeconomic outcome in childhood brain tumor survivors: a German cohort study
2019
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…
Strategies to improve the quality of survival for childhood brain tumour survivors
2015
Abstract Background Tumours of the central nervous system (CNS) are the most frequent solid tumours and the second most frequent type of cancer in children and adolescents. Overall survival has continuously improved in Germany, since an increasing number of patients have been treated according to standardised, multicentre, multimodal treatment recommendations, trials of the German Paediatric Brain Tumour Consortium (HIT-Network) or the International Society of Paediatric Oncology-Europe (SIOP-E) during the last decades. Today, two out of three patients survive. At least 8000 long-term childhood brain tumour survivors (CBTS) are currently living in Germany. They face lifelong disease- and tr…
Pediatric Germ Cell Tumors From 1987 to 2011: Incidence Rates, Time Trends, and Survival
2014
BACKGROUND: Malignant germ cell tumors (GCTs) are a rare and a heterogeneous group of pediatric cancers. The incidence rate has increased in some populations or subgroups. However, only a few recent publications on epidemiologic data showing the trends in incidence of pediatric GCTs are available. METHODS: We analyzed the incidence rates, time trends, and survival for 1366 GCTs in children 0 to 14 years old registered in the nationwide, population-based German Childhood Cancer Registry in 1987–2011. RESULTS: The incidence rate of GCTs was slightly higher in girls (age-standardized rate: girls, 5.3; boys, 4.4 per million). A bimodal age distribution was seen. In children aged <1 year…
Obesity after childhood craniopharyngioma--German multicenter study on pre-operative risk factors and quality of life.
2001
Craniopharyngiomas are tumorous embryogenic malformations. As the survival rate after craniopharyngioma is high (92 %), prognosis and quality of life (QoL) in survivors mainly depend on adverse late effects such as obesity.We analyzed 214 children and adolescents with craniopharyngioma. The records of 185 patients (86 %) were available for retrospective analysis of weight profiles and risk factors for obesity. Quality of life (QoL) was measured in 145 patients by the Fertigkeitenskala Münster/Heidelberg score (FMH) and in 77 patients by PEDQOL questionnaire.Eighty-two of 185 patients (44 %) developed severe obesity (body mass index [BMI]3 SD). Obese patients were compared with 79 patients (…
PanCareLIFE
2018
Aims: Survival after cancer diagnosed during childhood or adolescence continues to improve with new treatments and supportive therapies. Optimal long-term care requires that risks to vulnerable organs are clearly defined and translated into guidelines that are implemented into practice. PanCareLIFE is a pan-European consortium that addresses survivorship issues comprising fertility, hearing impairment and quality of life. This article describes the scientific basis of PanCareLIFE's studies.Methods: PanCareLIFE involves 17 partner institutions from eight European countries, with additional 11 data providers from five other countries. Study designs and methods include molecular genetic, cohor…
Age-Dependent Presentation and Clinical Course of 1465 Patients Aged 0 to Less than 18 Years with Ovarian or Testicular Germ Cell Tumors; Data of the…
2020
Objective: To evaluate prognostic factors in pediatric patients with gonadal germ cell tumors (GCT). Methods: Patients <18 years with ovarian and testicular GCT (respectively OGCT and TGCT) were prospectively registered according to the guidelines of MAKEI 96. After resection of the primary tumor, patients staged ≥II received risk-stratified cisplatin-based combination chemotherapy. Patients were analyzed in respect to age (six age groups divided into 3-year intervals), histology, stage, and therapy. The primary end point was overall survival. Results: Between January 1996 and March 2016, the following patients were registered: 1047 OGCT, of those, 630 had ovarian teratoma (OTER) and 417…
Effective childhood cancer treatment: The impact of large scale clinical trials in Germany and Austria
2013
In Germany and Austria, more than 90% of pediatric cancer patients are enrolled into nationwide disease-specific first-line clinical trials or interim registries. Essential components are a pediatric cancer registry and centralized reference laboratories, imaging review, and tumor board assistance. The five-year overall survival rate in countries where such infrastructures are established has improved from 80% since 1995. Today, treatment intensity is tailored to the individual patient's risk to provide the highest chances of survival while minimizing deleterious late effects. Multicenter clinical trials are internationalized and serve as platforms for further improvements by novel drugs an…
Childhood cancer predisposition syndromes-A concise review and recommendations by the Cancer Predisposition Working Group of the Society for Pediatri…
2017
Heritable predisposition is an important cause of cancer in children and adolescents. Although a large number of cancer predisposition genes and their associated syndromes and malignancies have already been described, it appears likely that there are more pediatric cancer patients in whom heritable cancer predisposition syndromes have yet to be recognized. In a consensus meeting in the beginning of 2016, we convened experts in Human Genetics and Pediatric Hematology/Oncology to review the available data, to categorize the large amount of information, and to develop recommendations regarding when a cancer predisposition syndrome should be suspected in a young oncology patient. This review su…
Health-related quality of life in European childhood cancer survivors: Protocol for a study within PanCareLIFE
2021
Background Survival after childhood cancer has improved to more than 80% during the last few years, leading to an increased number of childhood cancer survivors. Cancer itself, or its treatment, may cause chronic health conditions, including somatic and mental sequelae, which may affect survivors’ health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Objective The project PanCareLIFE aims to establish a large database with comprehensive data on childhood cancer survivors from different European countries, including data on HRQoL. Within PanCareLIFE, this study aims to describe HRQoL in survivors, investigate predictors of HRQoL, and describe the association of HRQoL with hearing and female fertility imp…
Guidelines for Long-Term Follow-Up after Childhood Cancer: Practical Implications for the Daily Work
2019
<b><i>Background:</i></b> Many childhood cancer survivors develop treatment-associated late effects emerging years or even decades after the end of treatment. Evidence-based guidelines recommend risk-adapted screening, facilitating early diagnosis and management of these sequelae. Long-term follow-up (LTFU) in specialized late effects clinics is devised to implement screening recommendations in the care of childhood cancer survivors. <b><i>Objectives:</i></b> To create a practical LTFU tool for the daily practice. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Current guidelines and screening recommendations concerning LTFU in adult survivors …
Communication and ethical considerations for fertility preservation for patients with childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancer
2021
Patients with childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancer who will be treated with gonadotoxic therapies are at increased risk for infertility. Many patients and their families desire biological children but effective communication about treatment-related infertility risk and procedures for fertility preservation does not always happen. The PanCareLIFE Consortium and the International Late Effects of Childhood Cancer Guideline Harmonization Group reviewed the literature and developed a clinical practice guideline that provides recommendations for ongoing communication methods for fertility preservation for patients who were diagnosed with childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancer at a…