A Phase I Study of Clofarabine With Multiagent Chemotherapy in Childhood High Risk Relapse of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (VANDEVOL Study of the French SFCE Acute Leukemia Committee)

International audienceBACKGROUND: Current outcome of very early relapse of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in children remains poor. As a single agent, clofarabine provided a response rate of 26% in childhood ALL second relapse and, in combination with cyclophosphamide and etoposide, a 44% complete remission and complete remission without platelet recovery (CR+CRp) rate. Further multi-drug combinations need to be investigated. We used the VANDA regimen as a template, cytarabine being replaced by clofarabine. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A phase I study combining escalating doses of clofarabine (25% increments from 20 to 40 mg/m(2) /d) with fixed doses of mitoxantrone, etoposide, asparaginase, and dexamethasone was undertaken in children presenting with very early or second or post-transplant ALL relapse. RESULTS: Twenty patients were enrolled, 19 were evaluable. Four patients had previously been allografted. Dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) appeared at dose level 3 (32 mg/m(2) ), one out of six patients experienced a liver DLT. At dose level 4 (40 mg/m(2) ), four DLT occurred (two fungal infection and two liver DLT). The maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of clofarabine was thus determined to be 32 mg/m(2) . There was no toxic death. Eleven (57.9%) patients achieved a CR. Six patients proceeded to allogeneic stem cell transplantation. CONCLUSION: Clofarabine MTD was 32 mg/m(2) /d in this combination which appeared feasible and effective in this population. Pediatr Blood Cancer © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, In

Outcome and late effects of patients treated for childhood vaginal malignant germ cell tumors

International audiencePurpose: Vaginal malignant germ cell tumors (MGCT) are rare, occurring in children less than 2 years old and raise the question of the optimal local treatment. Methods: We included children treated for vaginal MGCT according to the French TGM-95/2013 regimen. Patients were classified as standard risk (SR: localized disease and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP)  10,000 ng/mL) and were treated, respectively, with three to five VBP (vinblastine–bleomycin–cisplatin) or four to six VIP (etoposide–ifosfamide–cisplatin), followed by conservative surgery and/or brachytherapy in case of post-chemotherapy residuum. Results: Fourteen patients were included (median age = 12 months), of which six (43%) were classified as HiR. AFP levels were normalized after first-line chemotherapy in all cases but one. A vaginal post-chemotherapy residuum (median size = 8 mm, range: 1–24 mm) was observed in 13/14 patients, treated by complete resection in seven of 13 (viable cells in three of seven), incomplete resection in four of 13 (viable cells in two of four), with adjuvant brachytherapy in two of 13, and exclusive brachytherapy in two of 13 (viable cells in one of six). Among the six patients with viable disease, four patients received adjuvant chemotherapy. One patient (SR) experienced immediate postoperative relapse despite presenting no viable residual cells and was treated with four VIP cycles and brachytherapy. At last follow-up (median = 4.6 years, range: 0.5–16), all patients were alive in complete remission. Five patients suffered from vaginal sequelae with synechiae and/or stenosis (of whom four had undergone brachytherapy). Conclusion: Childhood vaginal MGCTs show a highly favorable prognosis with risk-adapted chemotherapy and local treatment of post-chemotherapy residuum (preferably by conservative surgery with partial vaginectomy). Brachytherapy could be an alternative when conservative surgery is not deemed possible or in cases of incomplete resection with residual viable cells

Impact of early molecular response in children with chronic myeloid leukemia treated in the French Glivec phase 4 study

International audienceStudies in adults have shown that an early molecular response to imatinib predicts clinical outcome in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). We investigated the impact of the BCR-ABL1 transcript level measured 3 months after starting imatinib in a cohort of 40 children with CML. Children with a BCR-ABL1/ABL ratio higher than 10% at 3 months after the start of imatinib had a larger spleen size and a higher white blood cell count compared with those with BCR-ABL1/ABL ≤10%. Children with BCR-ABL1/ABL ≤10% 3 months after starting imatinib had higher rates of complete cytogenetic response and major molecular response at 12 months compared to those with BCR-ABL1/ABL \textgreater10%. With a median follow-up of 71 months (range: 22 to 96), BCR-ABL1/ABL ≤10% correlated with better progression free survival. Thus, early molecular response at 3 months predicts outcome in children treated with imatinib for CML. The study was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00845221

Rhabdomyosarcoma associated with germline TP53 alteration in children and adolescents: The French experience

International audienceTo describe the clinical characteristics and outcome of patients with Li-Fraumeni-associated rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS)