Are outcomes for childhood leukaemia in Australia influenced by geographical remoteness and Indigenous race?

BACKGROUND: Presenting features, biology and outcome for childhood leukaemia are known to vary by ethnic origin, geographic location and socioeconomic group. This study aimed to compare presentation patterns, follow-up and clinical outcomes in Indigenous and non-Indigenous children with acute leukaemia in Australia, and to assess the impact of remoteness and area-based socioeconomic disadvantage on outcome. METHODS: A retrospective review of children aged between 1 day and 18 years who were diagnosed with acute leukaemia in South Australia (SA), Northern Territory (NT) and Western Australia (WA) between 2009 and 2018 was performed. Data were collected from children treated at the Women's and Children's Hospital, Adelaide and Perth Children's Hospital. RESULTS: Analysis of 455 children treated for acute leukaemia showed that children from remote/very remote localities had inferior overall survival (p = .004). Five-year overall survival was 91.7% (95% CI: 87.9-94.3%) for children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and 69.8% (56.7-79.5%) for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). A larger proportion of Indigenous children from SA/NT were diagnosed with AML compared to non-Indigenous children (60.0% vs. 14.4%, p = .001). Indigenous children were less likely to be enrolled on clinical trials (34.5% vs. 53.1%, p = .03) and more likely to be lost to follow-up (26.1% vs. 9.2%, p = .009). CONCLUSION: Geographic remoteness of residence is associated with inferior overall survival for Australian children with leukaemia. Indigenous children with acute leukaemia suffer from disparities in outcomes. These findings provide evidence to guide national policy in supporting appropriate resource allocation to overcome the challenges faced by children within these groups.

FDG PET-CT in pediatric Langerhans cell histiocytosis.

OBJECTIVE: Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) in pediatric patients presents with single-system or multisystem disease. Accurate staging is essential for selecting the most appropriate therapy ranging from local surgery to chemotherapy. METHODS: A retrospective review was undertaken of reported fludeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography - computed tomography (PET-CT) scans performed in children with LCH from June 2006 to February 2017. Findings were compared with a reference standard of biopsy or informed clinical follow-up. RESULTS: One hundred nine scans were performed in 33 patients (age 7 weeks to 18 years). Nineteen patients had single-system, bone unifocal disease; seven patients had single-system, bone multifocal disease; four patients had single-system, skin unifocal disease; two patients had multisystem disease; and one patient had single-system, lymph node disease. Twenty-six scans were performed to stage biopsy-proven LCH, and 83 scans were performed during follow-up to assess treatment response or recurrence after therapy completion. At staging, FDG PET-CT detected all sites of biopsy-proven LCH (except where bone unifocal disease had been resected). There was one false-positive thymic finding that resolved without therapy. The per-patient false-positive rate of FDG PET-CT at staging was 4% (1/26). During follow-up, five LCH recurrences and one case of progressive disease on therapy occurred, all positive on FDG PET-CT. During follow-up two patients had FDG PET-CT scans with false-positive findings and one patient with a magnetic resonance imaging false-positive finding. The per-scan false-positive rate of FDG PET-CT during follow-up was 2% (2/83). CONCLUSIONS: FDG PET-CT is highly sensitive for the staging and follow-up of pediatric patients with LCH, and has a very low false-positive rate.

Minimising Adverse Drug Reactions and Verifying Economic Legitimacy-Pharmacogenomics Implementation in Children (MARVEL- PIC): protocol for a national randomised controlled trial of pharmacogenomics implementation.

INTRODUCTION: DNA-informed prescribing (termed pharmacogenomics, PGx) is the epitome of personalised medicine. Despite international guidelines existing, its implementation in paediatric oncology remains sparse. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Minimising Adverse Drug Reactions and Verifying Economic Legitimacy-Pharmacogenomics Implementation in Children is a national prospective, multicentre, randomised controlled trial assessing the impact of pre-emptive PGx testing for actionable PGx variants on adverse drug reaction (ADR) incidence in patients with a new cancer diagnosis or proceeding to haematopoetic stem cell transplant. All ADRs will be prospectively collected by surveys completed by parents/patients using the National Cancer Institute Pediatric Patient Reported [Ped-PRO]-Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) (weeks 1, 6 and 12). Pharmacist will assess for causality and severity in semistructured interviews using the CTCAE and Liverpool Causality Assessment Tool. The primary outcome is a reduction in ADRs among patients with actionable PGx variants, where an ADR will be considered as any CTCAE grade 2 and above for non-haematological toxicities and any CTCAE grade 3 and above for haematological toxicities Cost-effectiveness of pre-emptive PGx (secondary outcome) will be compared with standard of care using hospital inpatient and outpatient data along with the validated Childhood Health Utility 9D Instrument. Power and statistics considerations: A sample size of 440 patients (220 per arm) will provide 80% power to detect a 24% relative risk reduction in the primary endpoint of ADRs (two-sided α=5%, 80% vs 61%), allowing for 10% drop-out. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The ethics approval of the trial has been obtained from the Royal Children's Hospital Ethics Committee (HREC/89083/RCHM-2022). The ethics committee of each participating centres nationally has undertaken an assessment of the protocol and governance submission. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT05667766.

Precision-guided treatment in high-risk pediatric cancers.

Recent research showed that precision medicine can identify new treatment strategies for patients with childhood cancers. However, it is unclear which patients will benefit most from precision-guided treatment (PGT). Here we report consecutive data from 384 patients with high-risk pediatric cancer (with an expected cure rate of less than 30%) who had at least 18 months of follow-up on the ZERO Childhood Cancer Precision Medicine Program PRecISion Medicine for Children with Cancer (PRISM) trial. A total of 256 (67%) patients received PGT recommendations and 110 (29%) received a recommended treatment. PGT resulted in a 36% objective response rate and improved 2-year progression-free survival compared with standard of care (26% versus 12%; P = 0.049) or targeted agents not guided by molecular findings (26% versus 5.2%; P = 0.003). PGT based on tier 1 evidence, PGT targeting fusions or commenced before disease progression had the greatest clinical benefit. Our data show that PGT informed by comprehensive molecular profiling significantly improves outcomes for children with high-risk cancers. ClinicalTrials.gov registration: NCT03336931.

If we build it, will they come? Modeling of public hospital care requirements for the Australian Bragg Centre for Proton Therapy and Research.

INTRODUCTION: The Australian Bragg Centre for Proton Therapy and Research (ABCPTR) will be Australia's first proton beam therapy (PBT) facility. A model was developed to predict associated public hospital care requirements for patients during PBT, to facilitate resource planning for pediatric, adolescent and young adult (AYA), and adult public hospitals in South Australia. METHODS: National incidence rates for specific cancer indications were obtained from the Australian Childhood Cancer Registry, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and published data. Australian Bureau of Statistics national population projections were used to estimate new cases in 2025 and beyond. Radiation oncologists and pediatric oncologists from the Central Adelaide Local and Women's and Children's Health Network, along with international colleagues, provided guidance on chemotherapy utilization and inpatient admission estimates. RESULTS: It was estimated 180 patients (40.4%) within the adult population (≥25 years) and 265 patients (59.6%) within the pediatric/AYA population (<25 years) would be eligible for PBT in 2025. There was no indication adult cancers would require concurrent outpatient/inpatient chemotherapy, in contrast with pediatric and AYA patients (59.5% and 62.8% outpatient and 18.9% and 41.9% inpatient, respectively). It was estimated 53% and 29% of pediatric and AYA patients could require inpatient admission for toxicity related to disease, concurrent chemotherapy or PBT. CONCLUSION: Associated public hospital care requirements related to the delivery of a national PBT service were estimated. This has particular implications for planning of the new Women's and Children's hospital, co-located with the ABCPTR. True data accuracy will be determined on future data generation and analysis.

Examining the Cultural Appropriateness of Advance Care Planning Tools for Adolescents and Young Adults With Cancer: An Example of Cross-Cultural Adaptation of the Voicing My CHOiCES Tool.

Advance care planning (ACP) is crucial in supporting optimal, patient-centered care for adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with life-limiting illnesses and can reduce unwanted outcomes at end-of-life. While several ACP tools and interventions have been designed for AYAs, most of these were developed in the United States of America (USA). This paper describes a study designed to adapt the AYA ACP tool, Voicing My CHOiCES (VMC), for the Australian population. A 2-stage mixed methods approach was used. Stage 1 involved a multiperspective interview to determine changes for the new Australian VMC. Participants were AYAs between the ages of 15 to 25, healthcare professionals, and parents. For each section, participants responded to questions targeting the helpfulness and usefulness of the items as well as open-ended questions about any suggested content or formatting changes. Stage 2 used think-aloud interviews asking AYA cancer patients and survivors aged between 15 and 39 years to respond to proposed changes for the Australian VMC. Stage 1 participants suggested changes to all pages of VMC, with proposed changes being based around language, content, and format. Stage 2 participants qualitatively confirmed the acceptability of these changes. Our data suggests that even between similar Western cultures, significant adaptations can be made to make ACP tools more culturally appropriate. More research is needed to further adapt ACP tools like VMC for culturally and linguistically diverse groups and to ensure these tools can be accessed by all AYAs with life-limiting illness.

Proton beam therapy in paediatric cancer: Anticipating the opening of the Australian Bragg Centre for Proton Therapy and Research.

Proton Beam Therapy (PBT) has the potential to improve paediatric cancer care by reducing radiation exposure and thus long-term toxicities. Ethical concerns and debates surrounding the treatment, such as eligibility and accessibility, are ongoing in Australia. The Australian Bragg Centre for Proton Therapy and Research (ABCPTR) (named after Sir William Henry Bragg who described the Bragg peak in his laboratory at the University of Adelaide in 1903) aims to increase access to PBT in Australasia and offer a patient-centred care approach. Research is underway to assess PBT's safety and cost-effectiveness, using tools including Normal Tissue Complication Probability (NTCP) models. Collaborative efforts are focused on developing tailored survivorship clinics to enhance patient follow-up and quality of life. With the anticipated opening of the ABCPTR, Australia is preparing to take a significant step in radiation oncology, offering new research opportunities and creating a publicly funded treatment centre. The initiative aims to balance treatment efficacy with patient care, setting the stage for a future in which radiation therapy will reduce long-term side effects compared to the current standard of care. The implementation of PBT in Australia represents a complex and promising approach to paediatric oncology. This article provides an overview of the current landscape, highlighting the potential benefits and challenges of a treatment that could redefine the quality of survivorship and contribute to global research and best clinical practice.

Case Report: Rare IKZF1 Gene Fusions Identified in Neonate with Congenital KMT2A-Rearranged Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Chromosomal rearrangements involving the KMT2A gene occur frequently in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). KMT2A-rearranged ALL (KMT2Ar ALL) has poor long-term survival rates and is the most common ALL subtype in infants less than 1 year of age. KMT2Ar ALL frequently occurs with additional chromosomal abnormalities including disruption of the IKZF1 gene, usually by exon deletion. Typically, KMT2Ar ALL in infants is accompanied by a limited number of cooperative le-sions. Here we report a case of aggressive infant KMT2Ar ALL harbouring additional rare IKZF1 gene fusions. Comprehensive genomic and transcriptomic analyses were performed on sequential samples. This report highlights the genomic complexity of this particular disease and describes the novel gene fusions IKZF1::TUT1 and KDM2A::IKZF1.

High-Throughput Drug Screening of Primary Tumor Cells Identifies Therapeutic Strategies for Treating Children with High-Risk Cancer.

For one-third of patients with pediatric cancer enrolled in precision medicine programs, molecular profiling does not result in a therapeutic recommendation. To identify potential strategies for treating these high-risk pediatric patients, we performed in vitro screening of 125 patient-derived samples against a library of 126 anticancer drugs. Tumor cell expansion did not influence drug responses, and 82% of the screens on expanded tumor cells were completed while the patients were still under clinical care. High-throughput drug screening (HTS) confirmed known associations between activating genomic alterations in NTRK, BRAF, and ALK and responses to matching targeted drugs. The in vitro results were further validated in patient-derived xenograft models in vivo and were consistent with clinical responses in treated patients. In addition, effective combinations could be predicted by correlating sensitivity profiles between drugs. Furthermore, molecular integration with HTS identified biomarkers of sensitivity to WEE1 and MEK inhibition. Incorporating HTS into precision medicine programs is a powerful tool to accelerate the improved identification of effective biomarker-driven therapeutic strategies for treating high-risk pediatric cancers. SIGNIFICANCE: Integrating HTS with molecular profiling is a powerful tool for expanding precision medicine to support drug treatment recommendations and broaden the therapeutic options available to high-risk pediatric cancers.

Cardio-Oncology Recommendations for Pediatric Oncology Patients: An Australian and New Zealand Delphi Consensus.

Cardio-oncology is a new multidisciplinary area of expertise that seeks to pre-emptively and proactively address cardiac complications that emerge during and following cancer therapy. Modern therapies including molecular targeted therapy and immunotherapy have broadened the agents that can cause cardiac sequelae, often with complications arising within days to weeks of therapy. Several international guidelines have been developed for the acute monitoring of cardio-oncology side effects. However, none are specific to pediatrics. We have addressed this gap in the literature by undertaking a rigorous Delphi consensus approach across 11 domains of cardio-oncology care using an Australian and New Zealand expert group. The expert group consisted of pediatric and adult cardiologists and pediatric oncologists. This Delphi consensus provides an approach to perform risk and baseline assessment, screening, and follow-up, specific to the cancer therapeutic. This review is a useful tool for clinicians involved in the cardio-oncology care of pediatric oncology patients.