Pediatric refractory chronic immune thrombocytopenia: Identification, patients' characteristics, and outcome.

Refractory chronic immune thrombocytopenia (r-cITP) is one of the most challenging situations in chronic immune thrombocytopenia (cITP). Pediatric r-cITP is inconsistently defined in literature, contributing to the scarcity of data. Moreover, no evidence is available to guide the choice of treatment. We compared seven definitions of r-cITP including five pediatric definitions in 886 patients with cITP (median [min-max] follow-up 5.3 [1.0-29.3] years). The pediatric definitions identified overlapping groups of various sizes (4%-20%) but with similar characteristics (higher proportion of immunopathological manifestations [IM] and systemic lupus erythematosus [SLE]), suggesting that they adequately captured the population of interest. Based on the 79 patients with r-cITP (median follow-up 3.1 [0-18.2] years) according to the CEREVANCE definition (≥3 second-line treatments), we showed that r-cITP occurred at a rate of 1.15% new patients per year and did not plateau over time. In multivariate analysis, older age was associated with r-cITP. One patient (1%) experienced two grade five bleeding events after meeting r-cITP criteria and while not receiving second-line treatment. The cumulative incidence of continuous complete remission (CCR) at 2 years after r-cITP diagnosis was 9%. In this analysis, splenectomy was associated with a higher cumulative incidence of CCR (hazard ratio: 5.43, 95% confidence interval: 1.48-19.84, p = 7.8 × 10-4). In sum, children with cITP may be diagnosed with r-cITP at any time point of the follow-up and are at increased risk of IM and SLE. Second-line treatments seem to be effective for preventing grade 5 bleeding. Splenectomy may be considered to achieve CCR.

Functional diversity of NLRP3 gain-of-function mutants associated with CAPS autoinflammation.

NLRP3-associated autoinflammatory disease is a heterogenous group of monogenic conditions caused by NLRP3 gain-of-function mutations. The poor functional characterization of most NLRP3 variants hinders diagnosis despite efficient anti-IL-1 treatments. Additionally, while NLRP3 is controlled by priming and activation signals, gain-of-functions have only been investigated in response to priming. Here, we characterize 34 NLRP3 variants in vitro, evaluating their activity upon induction, priming, and/or activation signals, and their sensitivity to four inhibitors. We highlight the functional diversity of the gain-of-function mutants and describe four groups based on the signals governing their activation, correlating partly with the symptom severity. We identify a new group of NLRP3 mutants responding to the activation signal without priming, associated with frequent misdiagnoses. Our results identify key NLRP3 residues controlling inflammasome activity and sensitivity to inhibitors, and antagonistic mechanisms with broader efficacy for therapeutic strategies. They provide new insights into NLRP3 activation, an explanatory mechanism for NLRP3-AID heterogeneity, and original tools for NLRP3-AID diagnosis and drug development.

Rapid haemoglobin A and S quantification using Tosoh HLC-723G8 in variant mode for patients with sickle cell disease.

The management of life-threatening complications in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) requires an accurate and reproducible quantification of haemoglobin A (HbA) and S (HbS) with a short turnaround time and 24-7 availability. We propose a novel method for quantifying HbA and HbS using the glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) assay on a Tosoh HLC-723G8 (G8) analyser in variant mode. HbA and HbS results obtained using our method highly correlated with results obtained using a reference method (r > 0.99 for 124 samples of patients with SCD or sickle cell trait). Our method met laboratory requirements for linearity (coefficient of variation [CV] and bias <5%), between-run and within-run reproducibility (CV <10%) and carryover (<0.5%) over the range of HbS and HbA values expected in a therapeutic context. Using the G8 analyser in variant mode is viable for monitoring HbA and HbS concentrations in dire situations. This method is easy to use, quick (1.6 min per sample), and automatable and produces highly reproducible results without significant bias. Finally, it does not require modifications to the analytical pipeline recommended by the supplier, enabling a 24-7 availability without disrupting routine monitoring of HbA1c in the laboratory.

Prediction of the Clinical Course of Immune Thrombocytopenia in Children by Platelet Kinetics.

Childhood immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is a rare autoimmune disorder characterized by isolated thrombocytopenia. Prolonged ITP (persistent and chronic) leads to a reduced quality of life for children in many domains. To provide optimal support for children, with ITP, it is important to be able to predict those who will develop prolonged ITP. This study aimed to develop a mathematical model based on platelet recovery that allows the early prediction of prolonged ITP. In this retrospective study, we used platelet counts from the 6 months following the diagnosis of ITP to model the kinetics of change in platelet count using a pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic model. In a learning set (n = 103), platelet counts were satisfactorily described by our kinetic model. The Kheal parameter, which describes spontaneous platelet recovery, allowed a distinction between acute and prolonged ITP with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.74. In a validation set (n = 58), spontaneous platelet recovery was robustly predicted using platelet counts from 15 (AUC = 0.76) or 30 (AUC = 0.82) days after ITP diagnosis. In our model, platelet recovery quantified using the kheal parameter allowed prediction of the clinical course of ITP. Future prospective studies are needed to improve the predictivity of this model, in particular, by combining it with the predictive scores previously reported in the literature.

Real-world experience with CLAIRYG® 50 mg/mL (intravenous immunoglobulin) in children under 12 years with primary immunodeficiency or immmune thrombocytopenia: a post-approval safety study.

Introduction: This study presents the results of a real-life, multicenter, prospective, post-approval safety evaluation of Clairyg® 50 mg/mL, a 5% intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) liquid, in 59 children (aged < 12 years) with primary immunodeficiency diseases (PID) (n = 32) or immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) (n = 27) in France. Methods: The primary objective of the study was to assess the safety and tolerability of Clairyg®, recording all serious and non-serious adverse events (AEs), whether related (rAEs) or not related to the product. Secondary objectives aimed at evaluating the administration of Clairyg® under routine conditions and the available efficacy data to better document the benefit/risk ratio in this pediatric population. An exploratory objective was added to evaluate the potential factors associated with the occurrence of rAEs. Patients received Clairyg® according to the approved dosage under normal conditions of prescriptions over a median follow-up period of 11.8 months. Results: A total of 549 infusions (PID: n = 464 and ITP: n = 85), were administered, of which 58.8% were preceded by premedication. The most frequent rAEs were headache, vomiting, and pyrexia in both indications. Most of them were considered non-serious and mild or moderate in intensity. A severe single rAE was observed (aseptic meningitis) in a 4-year-old girl presenting with chronic ITP. The exploratory multivariate analysis of potential co-factors showed that the occurrence of rAEs is significantly linked to high IVIg doses and possibly to female gender. The annualized rate of serious bacterial infections was 0.11 for patients with PID. For patients with ITP, 74.1% experienced at least one bleeding episode during the follow-up, mostly a cutaneous one, and none had gastrointestinal, genitourinary, or central nervous system bleeding. Conclusion: Clairyg® was well tolerated and allowed for control of serious bacterial infection in PID and serious bleeding in ITP, which are the main complications in these respective pediatric disorders. No new safety signal was detected in children less than 12 years-old in real-life conditions of use.

Macrocephaly and developmental delay caused by missense variants in RAB5C.

Rab GTPases are important regulators of intracellular vesicular trafficking. RAB5C is a member of the Rab GTPase family that plays an important role in the endocytic pathway, membrane protein recycling and signaling. Here we report on 12 individuals with nine different heterozygous de novo variants in RAB5C. All but one patient with missense variants (n = 9) exhibited macrocephaly, combined with mild-to-moderate developmental delay. Patients with loss of function variants (n = 2) had an apparently more severe clinical phenotype with refractory epilepsy and intellectual disability but a normal head circumference. Four missense variants were investigated experimentally. In vitro biochemical studies revealed that all four variants were damaging, resulting in increased nucleotide exchange rate, attenuated responsivity to guanine exchange factors and heterogeneous effects on interactions with effector proteins. Studies in C. elegans confirmed that all four variants were damaging in vivo and showed defects in endocytic pathway function. The variant heterozygotes displayed phenotypes that were not observed in null heterozygotes, with two shown to be through a dominant negative mechanism. Expression of the human RAB5C variants in zebrafish embryos resulted in defective development, further underscoring the damaging effects of the RAB5C variants. Our combined bioinformatic, in vitro and in vivo experimental studies and clinical data support the association of RAB5C missense variants with a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by macrocephaly and mild-to-moderate developmental delay through disruption of the endocytic pathway.

MAGT1 deficiency in XMEN disease is associated with severe platelet dysfunction and impaired platelet glycoprotein N-glycosylation.

BACKGROUND: X-linked immunodeficiency with magnesium defect, Epstein-Barr virus infection, and neoplasia (XMEN) disease is a primary immunodeficiency due to loss-of-function mutations in the gene encoding for magnesium transporter 1 (MAGT1). Furthermore, as MAGT1 is involved in the N-glycosylation process, XMEN disease is classified as a congenital disorder of glycosylation. Although XMEN-associated immunodeficiency is well described, the mechanisms underlying platelet dysfunction and those responsible for life-threatening bleeding events have never been investigated. OBJECTIVES: To assess platelet functions in patients with XMEN disease. METHODS: Two unrelated young boys, including one before and after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, were investigated for their platelet functions, glycoprotein expression, and serum and platelet-derived N-glycans. RESULTS: Platelet analysis highlighted abnormal elongated cells and unusual barbell-shaped proplatelets. Platelet aggregation, integrin αIIbß3 activation, calcium mobilization, and protein kinase C activity were impaired between both patients. Strikingly, platelet responses to protease-activated receptor 1 activating peptide were absent at both low and high concentrations. These defects were also associated with decreased molecular weights of glycoprotein Ibα, glycoprotein VI, and integrin αIIb due to partial impairment of N-glycosylation. All these defects were corrected after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. CONCLUSION: Our results highlight prominent platelet dysfunction related to MAGT1 deficiency and defective N-glycosylation in several platelet proteins that could explain the hemorrhages reported in patients with XMEN disease.

Impact of age at diagnosis, sex, and immunopathological manifestations in 886 patients with pediatric chronic immune thrombocytopenia.

Pediatric chronic immune thrombocytopenia (cITP) is a heterogeneous condition in terms of bleeding severity, second-line treatment use, association with clinical and/or biological immunopathological manifestations (IMs), and progression to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). No risk factors for these outcomes are known. Specifically, whether age at ITP diagnosis, sex, or IMs impact cITP outcomes is unknown. We report the outcomes of patients with pediatric cITP from the French nationwide prospective cohort OBS'CEREVANCE. We used multivariate analyses to investigate the effect of age at ITP diagnosis, sex, and IMs on cITP outcomes. We included 886 patients with a median (min-max) follow-up duration of 5.3 (1.0-29.3) years. We identified an age cutoff that dichotomized the risk of the outcomes and defined two risk groups: patients with ITP diagnosed <10 years (children) and ≥ 10 years (adolescents). Adolescents had a two to four-fold higher risk of grade ≥3 bleeding, second-line treatment use, clinical and biological IMs, and SLE diagnosis. Moreover, female sex and biological IMs were independently associated with higher risks of biological IMs and SLE diagnosis, second-line treatment use, and SLE diagnosis, respectively. The combination of these three risk factors defined outcome-specific risk groups. Finally, we showed that patients clustered in mild and severe phenotypes, more frequent in children and adolescents, respectively. In conclusion, we identified that age at ITP diagnosis, sex, and biological IMs impacted the long-term outcomes of pediatric cITP. We defined risk groups for each outcome, which will help clinical management and further studies.

[Morbi-mortality after recovery from cancer in childhood: Review of literature]. / Morbi-mortalité après guérison d'un cancer dans l'enfance : revue de la littérature.

Therapeutic advances in pediatric oncology have made it possible to increase the five-year survival rate of 80% for all types of cancer, giving the possibility of a growing number of children reaching adulthood. This increase in the survival rate is not without cost for the survivors. The most common complications are endocrinopathies and affect approximately 50% of children cured of cancer. Overall mortality increases significantly over time : 6,5% at 10 years (confidence interval [CI] at 95%, 6,2-6,9), 11,9% at 20 years (CI at 95%, 11,5-12,4), and 18,1% at 30 years (CI at 95%, 17,3-18,9). Premature mortality is essentially due to a recurrence of the initial cancer, while late mortality is attributable to the consequences of treatment. Compared to children cured of cancer, adolescents and young adults have a lower risk of death due to later exposure to cancer treatment : 4,8 (CI 95%, 4,4-5,1) against 6,8 (IC 95%, 6,2-7,4), respectively. The psychological and social impact of the experience of cancer and its treatment is in the middle of the discussion. It is strongly recommended that adults cured of cancer benefit from a personalized follow up, according to a global approach. This follow up should be interdisciplinary and should focus on the prevention and management of late effects through screening, education on treatment-related complications, and should encourage preventive lifestyle behaviors.

Human type I IFN deficiency does not impair B cell response to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination.

Inborn and acquired deficits of type I interferon (IFN) immunity predispose to life-threatening COVID-19 pneumonia. We longitudinally profiled the B cell response to mRNA vaccination in SARS-CoV-2 naive patients with inherited TLR7, IRF7, or IFNAR1 deficiency, as well as young patients with autoantibodies neutralizing type I IFNs due to autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type-1 (APS-1) and older individuals with age-associated autoantibodies to type I IFNs. The receptor-binding domain spike protein (RBD)-specific memory B cell response in all patients was quantitatively and qualitatively similar to healthy donors. Sustained germinal center responses led to accumulation of somatic hypermutations in immunoglobulin heavy chain genes. The amplitude and duration of, and viral neutralization by, RBD-specific IgG serological response were also largely unaffected by TLR7, IRF7, or IFNAR1 deficiencies up to 7 mo after vaccination in all patients. These results suggest that induction of type I IFN is not required for efficient generation of a humoral response against SARS-CoV-2 by mRNA vaccines.

Thyroid cancers in children and adolescents in France: Incidence, survival and clinical management over the 2000-2018 period.

INTRODUCTION: Thyroid cancer is the first cause of endocrine malignancy among children. Over the past decades, an increase in the incidence rates (IR) has been observed around the world. Our study aimed to describe epidemiology, therapeutic management and survival rates of children and adolescents with thyroid cancer in France. METHODS: A population-based study was conducted between 2000 and 2018 in children and adolescents less than 17 years with a diagnostic of thyroid cancer. RESULTS: A total of 774 thyroid cancers were included: 579 papillary (PTC), 83 follicular (FTC), and 111 medullary carcinomas (MTC). PTC are more frequent in females and in adolescents whereas MTC mainly concerned children, mostly with a familial predisposition. Almost all patients underwent thyroidectomy, completed for most patients with PTC and FTC by radioiodine therapy. Cervical dissection was performed more frequently in patients having PTC and MTC compared to those with FTC. Between 2000 and 2018, thyroid cancers IR in children fluctuated between 1.3 and 3.2 per million, without any significant trend. The median follow-up time was 11.3 years in children, and 5.7 years in adolescents. The 5year-OS was greater than 98.5%. CONCLUSIONS: Population-based studies are crucial for better understanding and delineation of best management of rare diseases as thyroid cancers in pediatric and adolescent population. Considering the very favorable survival, a stratification should be proposed between cases at low risk and cases at high risk of relapse, in order to consider a strategy of therapeutic de-escalation in the most favorable cases.

The French FRACTURE database: A way to improve knowledge on management of children with very rare tumors.

INTRODUCTION: Very rare pediatric tumors (VRTs), defined by an annual incidence ≤2 per million inhabitants, represent a heterogeneous group of cancers. Due to their extremely low incidence, knowledge on these tumors is scant. Since 2012, the French Very Rare Tumors Committee (FRACTURE) database has recorded clinical data about VRTs in France. This study aims: (a) to describe the tumors registered in the FRACTURE database; and (b) to compare these data with those registered in the French National Registry of Childhood Cancer (RNCE). METHODS: Data recorded in the FRACTURE database between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2018 were analyzed. In addition, these data were compared with those of the RNCE database between 2012 and 2015 to evaluate the completeness of the documentation and understand any discrepancies. RESULTS: A total of 477 patients with VRTs were registered in the FRACTURE database, representing 97 histological types. Of the 14 most common tumors registered in the RNCE (772 patients), only 19% were also registered in the FRACTURE database. Total 39% of children and adolescent VRTs registered in the RNCE and/or FRACTURE database (323 of a total of 828 patients) were not treated in or linked to a specialized pediatric oncology unit. CONCLUSION: VRTs represent many different heterogenous entities, which nevertheless account for 10% of all pediatric cancers diagnosed each year. Sustainability in the collection of these rare tumor cases is therefore important, and a regular systematic collaboration between the FRACTURE database and the RNCE register helps to provide a more exhaustive picture of these VRTs and allow research completeness for some peculiar groups of patients.

Primary lung carcinoma in children and adolescents: An analysis of the European Cooperative Study Group on Paediatric Rare Tumours (EXPeRT).

BACKGROUND: Primary lung carcinoma is an exceptionally rare childhood tumour, as per definition of the European Cooperative Study Group on Paediatric Rare Tumours (EXPeRT), with an incidence of 0.1-0.2/1,000,000 per year. Little is known about the clinical characteristics of children with primary lung carcinoma, a gap which this joint analysis of the EXPeRT group aimed to fill. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective case series of children (aged 0-18 years) with primary lung carcinoma, as collected through the EXPeRT databases between 2000 and 2021. We recorded relevant clinical characteristics including treatment and outcome. RESULTS: Thirty-eight patients were identified with a median age of 12.8 years at diagnosis (range: 0-17). Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) was the most frequent entity (n = 20), followed by adenocarcinoma (n = 12), squamous cell carcinoma (n = 4), adenosquamous carcinoma (n = 1) and small-cell lung cancer (n = 1). Patients with MEC presented rarely with lymph node metastases (2/20 cases). Overall, 19/20 patients achieved long-lasting remission by surgical resection only. Patients with other histologies often presented in advanced stages (14/18 TNM stage IV). With multimodal treatment, 3-year overall survival was 52% ± 13%. While all patients with squamous cell carcinoma died, the 12 patients with adenocarcinoma had a 3-year overall survival of 64% ± 15%. CONCLUSIONS: Primary lung carcinomas rarely occur in children. While the outcome of children with MEC is favourable with surgery alone, patients with other histotypes have a poor prognosis, despite aggressive treatment, highlighting the need to develop new strategies for these children, such as mutation-guided treatment.

Is surveillance imaging in pediatric patients treated for localized rhabdomyosarcoma useful? The European experience.

BACKGROUND: After the completion of therapy, patients with localized rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) are subjected to intensive radiological tumor surveillance. However, the clinical benefit of this surveillance is unclear. This study retrospectively analyzed the value of off-therapy surveillance by comparing the survival of patients in whom relapse was detected by routine imaging (the imaging group) and patients in whom relapse was first suspected by symptoms (the symptom group). METHODS: This study included patients with relapsed RMS after the completion of therapy for localized RMS who were treated in large pediatric oncology hospitals in France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and the Netherlands and who were enrolled in the International Society of Paediatric Oncology Malignant Mesenchymal Tumor 95 (1995-2004) study, the Italian Paediatric Soft Tissue Sarcoma Committee Rhabdomyosarcoma 96 (1996-2004) study, or the European Paediatric Soft Tissue Sarcoma Study Group Rhabdomyosarcoma 2005 (2005-2013) study. The survival times after relapse were compared with a log-rank test between patients in the imaging group and patients in the symptom group. RESULTS: In total, 199 patients with relapsed RMS were included: 78 patients (39.2%) in the imaging group and 121 patients (60.8%) in the symptom group. The median follow-up time after relapse was 7.4 years (interquartile range, 3.9-11.5 years) for survivors (n = 86); the 3-year postrelapse survival rate was 50% (95% confidence interval [CI], 38%-61%) for the imaging group and 46% (95% CI, 37%-55%) for the symptom group (P = .7). CONCLUSIONS: Although systematic routine imaging is the standard of care after RMS therapy, the majority of relapses were detected as a result of clinical symptoms. This study found no survival advantage for patients whose relapse was detected before the emergence of clinical symptoms. These results show that the value of off-therapy surveillance is controversial, particularly because repeated imaging may also entail potential harm.

[Relapse after rhabdomyosarcoma in childhood and adolescence: Impact of an early detection on survival]. / Rôle de la surveillance dans la détection précoce et la survie après rechute d'un rhabdomyosarcome de l'enfant et de l'adolescent.

SUBJECT: Prognostic values of an early detection of a relapse after treatment of a localized rhabdomyosarcoma and the interest of performing systematic radiologic assessment after treatment have not yet been evaluated in Europe. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Modalities of relapse of 99 patients under 20 years of age, after an initially localized rhabdomyosarcoma, treated in 9 French centers ("Société française des cancers de l'enfant" consortium) have been analyzed. Prognostic value of the protocol compliance during the observation period after therapy has been evaluated. RESULTS: Relapses have been diagnosed in 59 cases by a "symptom" the child was complaining of, in 12 cases because of "physical signs" detected during the clinical examination of a systematic consultation and in 27 cases thanks to "systematic follow-up imaging" (missing data: 1 case). Survival after relapse at 3 years was 47.5 % (IC95 %: 37.1 %-57.1 %). Diagnosis of the relapse is established earlier in the group "systematic imaging" rather than with other methods of detection ("symptom", "physical signs"), (P= 0.025), with detection of smaller tumors (≤ 5 cm ; 100.0 % vs. 60.9 % vs. 77.8 %, P= 0.007) but without possibility of reaching a second remission (70.4 % vs. 50.8 % vs. 50.0 % P= 0.37), nor significant impact on 5-year overall survival (47.1 % vs. 47.1 % vs. 48.6 % P= 0.94). CONCLUSION: Current methods of systematic surveillance after a first-line treatment of an initially localized rhabdomyosarcoma seem to improve the earliness of the diagnosis, but not the prognosis of the relapse.