Long-term survival among 5-year survivors of adolescent and young adult cancer.

BACKGROUND: Although there are a growing number of survivors of adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer, to the authors' knowledge the long-term overall survival (OS) patterns for AYA cancer survivors are underreported. The objective of the current study was to assess the long-term survival of AYA cancer survivors and identify factors associated with diminished long-term survival. METHODS: The authors used The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center's tumor registry to identify 5-year survivors of cancer diagnosed as AYAs (ages 15-39 years) between the years 1970 and 2005, and who were alive 5 years after diagnosis. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to estimate OS rates over time, and Cox proportional hazards models were fitted to evaluate the association of covariates with OS. RESULTS: The authors identified 16,728 individuals who were 5-year survivors of cancer and were diagnosed as AYAs with a median follow-up of 20.0 years. The 10-year, 20-year, and 25-year OS rates were 86% (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 85%-86%), 74% (95% CI, 73%-75%), and 68% (95% CI, 67%-68%), respectively, all of which were lower than the age-adjusted estimated survival rates of the general population. Long-term OS improved for AYAs diagnosed between 2000 and 2005 compared with those diagnosed in the prior decades (P < .001). Older age at the time of diagnosis, receipt of radiation, and diagnoses including central nervous system tumors and breast cancer each were associated with diminished long-term survival. CONCLUSIONS: AYA cancer survivors have inferior long-term survival compared with the general population. Studies investigating the prevalence and types of late treatment effects and causes of death among AYA survivors are needed to more accurately identify AYAs who are at highest risk of early or late mortality.

Etiologies and Impact of Readmission Rates in the First 180 Days After Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults.

INTRODUCTION: High rates of patients require readmission to the hospital within 6 months of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). We investigated the relationship between readmission rates and outcomes after HSCT in children, adolescents, and young adults (CAYA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis of patients (26 years or younger) treated with HSCT was conducted. RESULTS: A chart review of 435 CAYA who underwent HSCT from 2008 to 2015 revealed that 171 patients (39%) had at least 1 hospital readmission within 180 days of transplant; 87% received allogeneic and 13% received autologous HSCT. A total of 312 readmission events were reported. The median follow-up time was 31 months. Documented infection (n=99) and graft-versus-host disease complications (n=60) were the most common causes. Higher than 2 readmission rates were associated with lower overall survival (OS) (P=0.001) and disease-free survival (P<0.001) in patients who received allogeneic HSCT. These findings were not found in the autologous HSCT. In a multivariate analysis of those who received allogeneic HSCT, prior treatment with ≥2 chemotherapy regimens (P=0.03) was independent predictor of lower OS. There were also trends noted toward lower OS for patients with documented infections at index admission or subsequent readmissions (P=0.09). CONCLUSIONS: More than 2 hospital readmissions within 6 months of allogeneic HSCT in CAYA, who are either heavily pretreated or had documented infections at index admission or subsequent readmissions adversely affected the outcomes.

Use of Ceftolozane/Tazobactam in the Treatment of Multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa Bloodstream Infection in a Pediatric Leukemia Patient.

Multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa is of increasing concern in pediatric patients. Ceftolozane/tazobactam is a novel cephalosporin/ß-lactamase inhibitor combination with activity against multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas; however, no data exist on its use in children. This report summarizes the treatment of a multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa bloodstream infection in a pediatric leukemia patient with ceftolozane/tazobactam and provides the first description of its pharmacokinetics in pediatrics.