Treatment of NF1-Associated Optic Pathway/Hypothalamic Gliomas in Patients With Diencephalic Syndrome.

Diencephalic syndrome is usually associated with tumors in the hypothalamic region, rarely occurring in patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1)-associated gliomas. We describe the clinical presentation and response to treatment in 3 patients with NF1 presenting with diencephalic syndrome as first symptom of optic pathway/hypothalamic glioma (OPHG). Because of the rarity of this constellation, knowledge about the clinical course and best treatment options for patients with NF1-associated OPHG and diencephalic syndrome is still limited. All 3 patients showed good response to treatment with normalization of body mass index and decrease in tumor volume within 6 months.

Access to paediatric oncology centres in Switzerland: Disparities across rural-urban and Swiss-foreigners cohorts.

OBJECTIVE: In face of disparities in access to cancer care, it has been proposed to measure accessibility and to explore policy strategies for mitigating inequality of access. We aimed to determine the accessibility of Swiss paediatric oncology centres. METHODS: We employed spatial accessibility analysis, calculating driving time to nearest facility. Four data types were used: disaggregated population data, administrative data, street network data and addresses of centres. Besides analysing general accessibility, we compared access of urban versus rural areas and of Swiss citizens versus foreign residents and evaluated designating a new centre to improve accessibility. RESULTS: Overall, 97.4% could reach the nearest centre within 120 min (95.0% < 90 min, 86.5% < 60 min, 48.5% < 30 min). Accessibility could most effectively be improved by a new centre in Sion (city in the southwest of Switzerland). Access in urban areas was better than in rural areas. In urban areas, access of European Union/European Free Trade Association (EU/EFTA) and non-European residents was better than access of Swiss citizens and residents from non-EU European countries. CONCLUSION: Access is satisfactory. However, our study presents high-resolution insights which could serve as points of leverage for policymakers to mitigate inequalities by designating a new centre and to evaluate potential benefits of centralisation.

The landscape of pediatric Diamond-Blackfan anemia in Switzerland: genotype and phenotype characteristics.

Diamond-Blackfan anemia (DBA) is caused mainly by genetic mutations in large (RPL) or small ribosomal subunit genes (RPS) and presents with macrocytic anemia and congenital malformations. Clinical differences between genotypes are insufficiently understood. The aim of this study was to assess clinical features, treatment strategies, and genotypes in the Swiss pediatric DBA population. We retrospectively reviewed medical charts of pediatric patients with DBA in Switzerland and stratified patients by RPL versus RPS mutations. We report 17 DBA patients in Switzerland who were all genetically investigated. In our cohort, patients showed a wide spectrum of clinical presentations and treatment needs. We found a high proportion of physical malformations (77%) including lower limb (17%) and anorectal (12%) malformations. The two patients with anorectal malformations presented both with antepositioning of the anus needing surgery within the first 15 months of life. One of these patients had sphincteric dysfunction, the other coccygeal agenesis. We found that included patients with an RPL mutation more frequently tended to have physical malformations and a milder anemia compared to patients with an RPS mutation (median hemoglobin at diagnosis 76 g/l versus 22 g/l).Conclusion: We illustrate the wide clinical and genetic spectrum of DBA in Switzerland. Our findings highlight the need to take this diagnosis into consideration in patients with severe anemia but also in patients with mild anemia where malformations are present. Lower limb and anorectal malformation extend the spectrum of DBA-associated malformations. What is Known? • There is a large variation in the phenotype of Diamond-Blackfan Anemia (DBA) and diversity of genetic mutations. • Malformation of the upper limbs, head and face, heart, and genitourinary system is frequently identified. What is New? • Patients with lower limb and anorectal malformations were repetitively found in our cohort enlarging the clinical spectrum of malformations. • We show two patients of the same family with a DBA-like condition where the same RPL17 variant was identified.

Diagnosis and management of iron deficiency in children with or without anemia: consensus recommendations of the SPOG Pediatric Hematology Working Group.

Iron deficiency is the most prevalent nutritional deficiency affecting children and adolescents worldwide. A consistent body of epidemiological data demonstrates an increased incidence of iron deficiency at three timepoints: in the neonatal period, in preschool children, and in adolescents, where it particularly affects females.Conclusion: This narrative review focuses on the most suggestive symptoms of iron deficiency in childhood, describes the diagnostic procedures in situations with or without anemia, and provides Swiss expert-based management recommendations for the pediatric context.What is Known:• Iron deficiency (ID) is one of the most common challenges faced by pediatricians.• Significant progress in the diagnosis and therapy of ID has been made over the last decade.What is New:• Our expert panel provides ID management recommendations based on the best available evidence.• They include strategies for ID diagnosis and therapy, both oral and intravenous.

Burden of treatment in the face of childhood cancer: A quantitative study using medical records of deceased children.

Lived experiences of childhood cancer patients and their families have been described as interrupted and as a loss of normal life. Apart from symptoms due to the cancer disease, families continuously experience burden of treatment. Since coping capacities are unique to each individual, we captured variables that offer objective measures of treatment burden, with a particular focus on the disruptive effects of treatment on families' lives. Our sample was comprised by 193 children that died of cancer. Medical records were extracted retrospectively. Quantitative data were statistically analysed with respect to variables related to treatment burden. Deceased children with cancer and their families faced a significant burden of treatment. Results revealed that deceased leukaemia patients had a higher number of inpatient stays, spent more time in the hospital both during their illness and during the last month of their life, and were more likely to die in the hospital when compared to deceased patients with CNS neoplasms and with other diagnoses. Our findings highlight the disruptive effects of treatment that are likely to have a great impact on families' daily life, that go beyond exclusively focusing on side effects, and that needs to be taken into account by the treating staff.

Space-time clustering of childhood cancers in Switzerland: A nationwide study.

The aetiology of childhood cancers remains largely unknown. It has been hypothesized that infections may be involved and that mini-epidemics thereof could result in space-time clustering of incident cases. Most previous studies support spatio-temporal clustering for leukaemia, while results for other diagnostic groups remain mixed. Few studies have corrected for uneven regional population shifts which can lead to spurious detection of clustering. We examined whether there is space-time clustering of childhood cancers in Switzerland identifying cases diagnosed at age <16 years between 1985 and 2010 from the Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry. Knox tests were performed on geocoded residence at birth and diagnosis separately for leukaemia, acute lymphoid leukaemia (ALL), lymphomas, tumours of the central nervous system, neuroblastomas and soft tissue sarcomas. We used Baker's Max statistic to correct for multiple testing and randomly sampled time-, sex- and age-matched controls from the resident population to correct for uneven regional population shifts. We observed space-time clustering of childhood leukaemia at birth (Baker's Max p = 0.045) but not at diagnosis (p = 0.98). Clustering was strongest for a spatial lag of <1 km and a temporal lag of <2 years (Observed/expected close pairs: 124/98; p Knox test = 0.003). A similar clustering pattern was observed for ALL though overall evidence was weaker (Baker's Max p = 0.13). Little evidence of clustering was found for other diagnostic groups (p > 0.2). Our study suggests that childhood leukaemia tends to cluster in space-time due to an etiologic factor present in early life.

Participation in pediatric oncology: views of child and adolescent patients.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study is to explore patient's perspectives in pediatric oncology on participation in discussions and decision-making surrounding their cancer diagnosis. METHODS: Seventeen patients between 9 and 17 years of age receiving treatment at centers of the Swiss Pediatric Oncology Group were interviewed for this study. Their interview data was analyzed qualitatively to identify themes with regard to participation in medical communication and/or decision-making. RESULTS: Participants highlighted how their roles in health care discussions varied from direct participation to indirect involvement. Overall, there were fewer accounts of involvement in decision-making than in overall health care discussions. Challenges with regard to completely understanding the information provided and making decisions were identified. Participants also discussed situations when they were not involved in medical communication or decision-making. While they generally valued their participation, the preferred level of involvement oscillated between participants as well as within one and the same child across time. CONCLUSIONS: The complex pattern of participation found in this study calls for a flexible model of involving children and adolescents in health care that accounts for the varying roles and preferences that they manifest. A patient may appreciate active involvement in some decisions while choosing to remain in the background for others. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Diagnosis, treatment, and surveillance of Diamond-Blackfan anaemia syndrome: international consensus statement.

Diamond-Blackfan anaemia (DBA), first described over 80 years ago, is a congenital disorder of erythropoiesis with a predilection for birth defects and cancer. Despite scientific advances, this chronic, debilitating, and life-limiting disorder continues to cause a substantial physical, psychological, and financial toll on patients and their families. The highly complex medical needs of affected patients require specialised expertise and multidisciplinary care. However, gaps remain in effectively bridging scientific discoveries to clinical practice and disseminating the latest knowledge and best practices to providers. Following the publication of the first international consensus in 2008, advances in our understanding of the genetics, natural history, and clinical management of DBA have strongly supported the need for new consensus recommendations. In 2014 in Freiburg, Germany, a panel of 53 experts including clinicians, diagnosticians, and researchers from 27 countries convened. With support from patient advocates, the panel met repeatedly over subsequent years, engaging in ongoing discussions. These meetings led to the development of new consensus recommendations in 2024, replacing the previous guidelines. To account for the diverse phenotypes including presentation without anaemia, the panel agreed to adopt the term DBA syndrome. We propose new simplified diagnostic criteria, describe the genetics of DBA syndrome and its phenocopies, and introduce major changes in therapeutic standards. These changes include lowering the prednisone maintenance dose to maximum 0·3 mg/kg per day, raising the pre-transfusion haemoglobin to 9-10 g/dL independent of age, recommending early aggressive chelation, broadening indications for haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation, and recommending systematic clinical surveillance including early colorectal cancer screening. In summary, the current practice guidelines standardise the diagnostics, treatment, and long-term surveillance of patients with DBA syndrome of all ages worldwide.

Alcohol consumption and binge drinking in young adult childhood cancer survivors.

BACKGROUND: This study compared frequency of alcohol consumption and binge drinking between young adult childhood cancer survivors and the general population in Switzerland, and assessed its socio-demographic and clinical determinants. PROCEDURE: Childhood cancer survivors aged <16 years when diagnosed 1976-2003, who had survived >5 years and were currently aged 20-40 years received a postal questionnaire. Reported frequency of alcohol use and of binge drinking were compared to the Swiss Health Survey, a representative general population survey. Determinants of frequent alcohol consumption and binge drinking were assessed in a multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: Of 1,697 eligible survivors, 1,447 could be contacted and 1,049 (73%) responded. Survivors reported more often than controls to consume alcohol frequently (OR = 1.7; 95%CI = 1.3-2.1) and to engage in binge drinking (OR = 2.9; 95%CI = 2.3-3.8). Peak frequency of binge drinking in males occurred at age 24-26 years in survivors, compared to age 18-20 in the general population. Socio-demographic factors (male gender, high educational attainment, French and Italian speaking, and migration background from Northern European countries) were most strongly associated with alcohol consumption patterns among both survivors and controls. CONCLUSIONS: The high frequency of alcohol consumption found in this study is a matter of concern. Our data suggest that survivors should be better informed on the health effects of alcohol consumption during routine follow-up, and that such counseling should be included in clinical guidelines. Future research should study motives of alcohol consumption among survivors to allow development of targeted health interventions for this vulnerable group.

A national survey of Swiss paediatric oncology care providers' cross-cultural competences.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Culturally diverse countries such as Switzerland face the challenge of providing cross-cultural competent care. Cross-cultural competent care needs an understanding of a patient's cultural context in order to provide safe and effective care. Therefore, we sought to examine cross-cultural competence of Swiss paediatric oncology care providers, and to explore their perceptions of barriers to and facilitators of cross-culturally competent care. DESIGN AND SAMPLE: We conducted a cross-sectional study. The data collection period was three weeks. Providers were recruited through collaborators at the participating paediatric oncology centres. All occupational groups who are in direct contact with patients and involved in their care were eligible (e.g., physicians, nurses, social workers, occupational therapists and physiotherapists). Surveying providers online, we captured five subscales of their cross-cultural competence and their perceptions as to how to facilitate cross-culturally competent paediatric oncology care. We employed the Cross-Cultural Competence of Healthcare Professionals (CCCHP) questionnaire. Besides descriptive and inferential statistics, we performed content analysis. FINDINGS: The response rate was 73.2% (n = 183/250). Analyses revealed differences in cross-cultural competence between occupational groups of paediatric oncology providers. Overall, social workers' cross-cultural competence was higher than nurses' or occupational therapists' and physiotherapists' cross-cultural competence. Physicians' cross-cultural competence was higher than nurses (with no statistically significant difference identified between physicians, occupational therapists and physiotherapists). Furthermore, our results suggest noteworthy differences among the four main occupational groups on the five CCCHP subscales. Physicians and social workers declared more positive attitudes than nurses; occupational therapists and physiotherapists reported lower skills than the other three groups; social workers scored higher on the emotions and empathy subscale than the other three groups; physicians were more knowledgeable and aware than nurses. Most frequently mentioned barriers were: language barriers (68.5%), different culture and values (19.2%), different illness understanding (9.2%). Most frequently mentioned facilitators were: professional translators (47.2%), continuous training (20.8%), professional cultural mediators (8.8%). CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS: Trainings and interventions are widely considered a principal strategy to advance providers' cross-cultural competence. Our findings of differences in cross-cultural competence among occupational groups further underpin the need to adapt training programmes and interventions to the respective occupational group and the respective dimension(s) of cross-cultural competence. In addition, professional translators and cultural mediators should be used. Lastly, reciprocal supervision and the promotion of multidisciplinary teams is crucial to enable oncology care providers to learn from each other and this exchange could also help to reduce some of the differences between the various occupational groups.

Childhood cancer and traffic-related air pollution in Switzerland: A nationwide census-based cohort study.

Motor vehicle exhaust is a major contributor to air pollution, and exposure to benzene or other carcinogenic components may increase cancer risks. We aimed to investigate the association between traffic-related air pollution and risk of childhood cancer in a nationwide cohort study in Switzerland. We identified incident cases from the Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry diagnosed < 16 years of age between 1990 and 2015 and linked them probabilistically with the census-based Swiss National Cohort study. We developed land use regression models to estimate annual mean ambient levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and benzene outside 1.4 million children's homes. We used risk-set sampling to facilitate the analysis of time-varying exposure and fitted conditional logistic regression models adjusting for neighborhood socio-economic position, level of urbanization, and background ionizing radiation. We included 2,960 cancer cases in the analyses. The adjusted hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals for exposure to NO2 per 10 µg/m3 were 1.00 (95%-CI 0.88-1.13) for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and 1.31 (95%-CI 1.00-1.71) for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Using exposure lagged by 1 to 5 years instead of current exposure attenuated the effect for AML. The adjusted HR for exposure to benzene per 1 µg/m3 was 1.03 (95%-CI 0.86-1.23) for ALL and 1.29 (95%-CI 0.86-1.95) for AML. We also observed increased HRs for other diagnostic groups, notably non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Our study adds to the existing evidence that exposure to traffic-related air pollution is associated with an increased risk of childhood leukemia, particularly AML.

Insights from the Hereditary Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura Registry: Discussion of Key Findings Based on Individual Cases from Switzerland.

The Hereditary TTP Registry is an international cohort study for patients with a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of hereditary thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (hTTP) and their family members. Hereditary TTP is an ultra-rare blood disorder (prevalence of ∼1-2 cases per million), the result of autosomal-recessively inherited congenital ADAMTS13 (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with a thrombospondin type 1 motif, member 13) deficiency (ADAMTS13 activity <10% of the normal), and associated with yet many unanswered questions. Until December 2017, the Hereditary TTP Registry had enrolled 123 confirmed hTTP patients. Their median age at disease onset was 4.5 years (range: 0-70) and at clinical diagnosis 16.7 years (range: 0-69), a difference that highlights the existing awareness gap in recognizing hTTP. The systematic collection of clinical data of individual patients revealed their substantial baseline comorbidities, as a consequence of recurring TTP episodes in the past. Most notable was the high proportion of patients having suffered from premature arterial thrombotic events, mainly transient ischemic attacks, ischemic strokes, and to a lesser extent myocardial infarctions. At 40 to 50 years of age and above, more than 50% of patients had suffered from at least one such event, and many had experienced arterial thrombotic events despite regular plasma infusions every 2 to 3 weeks that supplements the missing plasma ADAMTS13. The article by van Dorland et al. (Haematologica 2019;104(10):2107-2115) and the ongoing Hereditary TTP Registry cohort study were recognized with the Günter Landbeck Excellence Award at the 50th Hemophilia Symposium in Hamburg in November 2019, the reason to present the Hereditary TTP Registry in more detail here.

Age and DNA methylation subgroup as potential independent risk factors for treatment stratification in children with atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors.

BACKGROUND: Controversy exists as to what may be defined as standard of care (including markers for stratification) for patients with atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors (ATRTs). The European Rhabdoid Registry (EU-RHAB) recruits uniformly treated patients and offers standardized genetic and DNA methylation analyses. METHODS: Clinical, genetic, and treatment data of 143 patients from 13 European countries were analyzed (2009-2017). Therapy consisted of surgery, anthracycline-based induction, and either radiotherapy or high dose chemotherapy following a consensus among European experts. Fluorescence in situ hybridization, multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification, and sequencing were employed for assessment of somatic and germline mutations in SWItch/sucrose nonfermentable related, matrix associated, actin dependent regulator of chromatin, subfamily B (SMARCB1). Molecular subgroups (ATRT-SHH, ATRT-TYR, and ATRT-MYC) were determined using DNA methylation arrays, resulting in profiles of 84 tumors. RESULTS: Median age at diagnosis of 67 girls and 76 boys was 29.5 months. Five-year overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) were 34.7 ±â€…4.5% and 30.5 ±â€…4.2%, respectively. Tumors displayed allelic partial/whole gene deletions (66%; 122/186 alleles) or single nucleotide variants (34%; 64/186 alleles) of SMARCB1. Germline mutations were detected in 26% of ATRTs (30/117). The patient cohort consisted of 47% ATRT-SHH (39/84), 33% ATRT-TYR (28/84), and 20% ATRT-MYC (17/84). Age <1 year, non-TYR signature (ATRT-SHH or -MYC), metastatic or synchronous tumors, germline mutation, incomplete remission, and omission of radiotherapy were negative prognostic factors in univariate analyses (P < 0.05). An adjusted multivariate model identified age <1 year and a non-TYR signature as independent negative predictors of OS: high risk (<1 y + non-TYR; 5-y OS = 0%), intermediate risk (<1 y + ATRT-TYR or ≥1 y + non-TYR; 5-y OS = 32.5 ±â€…8.7%), and standard risk (≥1 y + ATRT-TYR, 5-y OS = 71.5 ±â€…12.2%). CONCLUSIONS: Age and molecular subgroup status are independent risk factors for survival in children with ATRT. Our model warrants validation within future clinical trials.

Temporal trends in incidence of childhood cancer in Switzerland, 1985-2014.

BACKGROUND: Incidence of childhood cancer increased in most countries worldwide, but reasons are unclear. This study investigates trends of childhood cancer incidence in Switzerland from 1985 to 2014. METHODS: We extracted data on all childhood cancer cases diagnosed at ages 0-14 years in Switzerland from the Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry. We included ICCC-3 main groups I-XII and calculated age-standardised, cumulative, and age-specific incidence for different diagnostic groups. We analysed trends of annual age-standardised incidence using JoinPoint regression models. RESULTS: Over the study period from 1985 to 2014, 5104 of 5486 cancer diagnoses (93%) were microscopically verified. The proportion of children treated in paediatric cancer centres increased from 84% during 1985-1994 to 93% in 1995-2004 and 98% in 2005-2014 (p < 0.001). Using the World standard population, age-standardised incidence was 143 in 1985-1994, 154 in 1995-2004, and 162 per million in 2005-2014. Incidence increased by 0.7% (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.5; 1.0) per year for all cancers from 1985 to 2014, 0.8% (95% CI 0.2%-1.4%) for leukaemias over the same period, 3.0% (95% CI 0.2%-1.4%) for CNS tumours during 1985-2002, and 3.8% (95% CI 1.7%-6.0%) for epithelial neoplasms and melanomas over the period 1985-2014. CONCLUSION: Trends in incidence were driven mostly by increases among leukaemias and CNS tumours. For CNS tumours, observed trends may be explained at least partially by diagnostic changes and improved registration. For leukaemias, rising incidence may be real and due to risk factors that experience similar increases in trends.

Compound heterozygosity for Hb S [beta6(A3)GluVal, GAG-->GTG] and a new thalassemic mutation [beta132(H10)Lys-->term, AAA-->TAA] detected in a family from West Africa.

We describe a Hb S/beta-thalassemia (beta-thal) mutation involving an AT transition at codon 132 of the beta-globin gene. The mutation, in the heterozygous state, unlike several other mutations in exon 3, shows no signs of dominant thalassemia but those of a typical beta(0) carrier. Compound heterozygosity with Hb S [beta6(A3)GluVal, GAGGTG] showed a severe clinical picture.

Parents' and Physicians' Perceptions of Children's Participation in Decision-making in Paediatric Oncology: A Quantitative Study.

The goal is to present how shared decision-making in paediatric oncology occurs from the viewpoints of parents and physicians. Eight Swiss Pediatric Oncology Group centres participated in this prospective study. The sample comprised a parent and physician of the minor patient (<18 years). Surveys were statistically analysed by comparing physicians' and parents' perspectives and by evaluating factors associated with children's actual involvement. Perspectives of ninety-one parents and twenty physicians were obtained for 151 children. Results indicate that for six aspects of information provision examined, parents' and physicians' perceptions differed. Moreover, parents felt that the children were more competent to understand diagnosis and prognosis, assessed the disease of the children as worse, and reported higher satisfaction with decision-making on the part of the children. A patient's age and gender predicted involvement. Older children and girls were more likely to be involved. In the decision-making process, parents held a less active role than they actually wanted. Physicians should take measures to ensure that provided information is understood correctly. Furthermore, they should work towards creating awareness for systematic differences between parents and physicians with respect to the perception of the child, the disease, and shared decision-making.

Childhood cancer and nuclear power plants in Switzerland: a census-based cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies on childhood cancer and nuclear power plants (NPPs) produced conflicting results. We used a cohort approach to examine whether residence near NPPs was associated with leukaemia or any childhood cancer in Switzerland. METHODS: We computed person-years at risk for children aged 0-15 years born in Switzerland from 1985 to 2009, based on the Swiss censuses 1990 and 2000 and identified cancer cases from the Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry. We geo-coded place of residence at birth and calculated incidence rate ratios (IRRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) comparing the risk of cancer in children born <5 km, 5-10 km and 10-15 km from the nearest NPP with children born >15 km away, using Poisson regression models. RESULTS: We included 2925 children diagnosed with cancer during 21 117 524 person-years of follow-up; 953 (32.6%) had leukaemia. Eight and 12 children diagnosed with leukaemia at ages 0-4 and 0-15 years, and 18 and 31 children diagnosed with any cancer were born <5 km from a NPP. Compared with children born >15 km away, the IRRs (95% CI) for leukaemia in 0-4 and 0-15 year olds were 1.20 (0.60-2.41) and 1.05 (0.60-1.86), respectively. For any cancer, corresponding IRRs were 0.97 (0.61-1.54) and 0.89 (0.63-1.27). There was no evidence of a dose-response relationship with distance (P > 0.30). Results were similar for residence at diagnosis and at birth, and when adjusted for potential confounders. Results from sensitivity analyses were consistent with main results. CONCLUSIONS: This nationwide cohort study found little evidence of an association between residence near NPPs and the risk of leukaemia or any childhood cancer.