Alveolar soft part sarcoma in children and adolescents: A report from the Soft-Tissue Sarcoma Italian Cooperative Group

BACKGROUND: Alveolar soft part sarcoma (ASPS) is a rare malignant tumor and little is known about its clinical features and management. We report on a series of 19 pediatric patients managed over 20 years. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Primary conservative surgery was performed in all patients and was radical in nine, non-radical in three; seven patients underwent biopsy alone (3 unresectable tumors, 4 metastatic disease). In two cases radical surgery was performed after primary chemotherapy. Radiotherapy was delivered to 8 patients, chemotherapy to 15. RESULTS: After a median follow-up of 74 months, the five-year survival was 80% for the whole series, 91% for patients with localized disease, 100% for patients with tumor 5 cm; 16 of 19 patients were alive (12 of 12 with grossly-resected tumor in first continuous remission). Chemotherapy achieved two partial remission among seven evaluable patients. CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric ASPS has a more favorable prognosis than its adult counterpart. In this series, tumor size correlates with metastatic disease at onset and is the major factor influencing survival. Surgery is the mainstay of therapy. The effectiveness of adjuvant therapy remains to be established, though radiotherapy may be advisable in cases of inadequate surgery

Therapeutic approach to primary malignant epithelial tumors of the liver in childhood: results of the Italian retrospective study and literature survey.

We analyzed the clinical features and treatment of 23 hepatoblastomas (HPBs) and 16 hepatocellular carcinomas (HPCs) occurring in patients less than 19 years old, admitted to the Italian retrospective multicentric study, conducted between 1983 and 1985, on childhood malignant hepatic tumors. The median ages of the patients with HPB and HPC at diagnosis were 22.34 months and 96.23 months, respectively, with a male/female ratio of 0.7 and 1.7, respectively. Fourteen HPBs (61%) and 5 HPCs (31%) achieved surgical complete remission (CR). Of these, 11 HPB and all 5 HPC are still in CR with a median follow-up of 36 months and 3.5 years, respectively. One HPB and 1 HPC became resectable after a primary course of cis-platinum alone in the case of HPB and used with VP-16 in the case of HPC. All of the 9 HPBs and 11 HPCs, who never achieved CR, died of disease at a median interval from diagnosis of 5 and 2 months, respectively. The published therapeutic approaches for these tumors were also reviewed

Patterns of domestic migrations and access to childhood cancer care centres in Italy: A report from the hospital based registry of the Italian Association of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology (AIEOP)

Tertiary care centres, grouped in the Italian Association of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology (AIEOP) are unevenly distributed across the country. In an attempt to describe their perceived efficacy, we matched the residence and the location of the treatment centre in 18,441 patients aged <or=15 years treated in the AIEOP network between 1989 and 2005. Overall, centres located in the central and southern regions were less appealing than those located in the North, although this trend decreased over the study period. Patients with solid tumours migrated more frequently than those with leukaemia or lymphoma. Information resulting from better knowledge of the non-random migrations for treatment of children with cancer will be useful to refine planning of the national paediatric haematology-oncology network with social and economic implications

Treatment of pediatric non-Hodgkin lymphomas in a country with limited resources: Results of the first national protocol in Nicaragua

We report the results of a protocol for the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL) conducted in Nicaragua in the context of an international collaborative program. Fifty-three children with NHL treated between 1996 and 2003 were retrospectively evaluated. Therapy was designed based on local drug availability and affordability with dose and schedule adaptations for Burkitt and lymphoblastic lymphomas. With a median follow-up of 3 years, the projected 9-year overall survival was 63% and event-free survival 53%. The treatment was efficacious, feasible, and well tolerated in spite of the local socio-economical conditions

Patterns of domestic migrations and access to childhood cancer care centres in Italy: A report from the hospital based registry of the Italian Association of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology (AIEOP).

Tertiary care centres, grouped in the Italian Association of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology (AIEOP) are unevenly distributed across the country. In an attempt to describe their perceived efficacy, we matched the residence and the location of the treatment centre in 18,441 patients aged 15 years treated in the AIEOP network between 1989 and 2005. Overall, centres located in the central and southern regions were less appealing than those located in the North, although this trend decreased over the study period. Patients with solid tumours migrated more frequently than those with leukaemia or lymphoma. Information resulting from better knowledge of the non-random migrations for treatment of children with cancer will be useful to refine planning of the national paediatric haematology-oncology network with social and economic implications

Patterns of domestic migrations and access to childhood cancer care centres in Italy: a report from the hospital based registry of the Italian Association of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology (AIEOP).

Tertiary care centres, grouped in the Italian Association of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology (AIEOP) are unevenly distributed across the country. In an attempt to describe their perceived efficacy, we matched the residence and the location of the treatment centre in 18,441 patients aged <or=15 years treated in the AIEOP network between 1989 and 2005. Overall, centres located in the central and southern regions were less appealing than those located in the North, although this trend decreased over the study period. Patients with solid tumours migrated more frequently than those with leukaemia or lymphoma. Information resulting from better knowledge of the non-random migrations for treatment of children with cancer will be useful to refine planning of the national paediatric haematology-oncology network with social and economic implications