Clinical features and prognosis of childhood B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia expressing the PRAME gene / 中国当代儿科杂志

OBJECTIVES@#To study the clinical and prognostic significance of the preferentially expressed antigen of melanoma (PRAME) gene in the absence of specific fusion gene expression in children with B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL).@*METHODS@#A total of 167 children newly diagnosed with B-ALL were enrolled, among whom 70 were positive for the PRAME gene and 97 were negative. None of the children were positive for MLL-r, BCR/ABL, E2A/PBX1, or ETV6/RUNX1. The PRAME positive and negative groups were analyzed in terms of clinical features, prognosis, and related prognostic factors.@*RESULTS@#Compared with the PRAME negative group, the PRAME positive group had a significantly higher proportion of children with the liver extending >6 cm below the costal margin (P<0.05). There was a significant reduction in the PRAME copy number after induction chemotherapy (P<0.05). In the minimal residual disease (MRD) positive group after induction chemotherapy, the PRAME copy number was not correlated with the MRD level (P>0.05). In the MRD negative group, there was also no correlation between them (P>0.05). The PRAME positive group had a significantly higher 4-year event-free survival rate than the PRAME negative group (87.5%±4.6% vs 73.5%±4.6%, P<0.05), while there was no significant difference between the two groups in the 4-year overall survival rate (88.0%±4.4% vs 85.3%±3.8%, P>0.05). The Cox proportional-hazards regression model analysis showed that positive PRAME expression was a protective factor for event-free survival rate in children with B-ALL (P<0.05).@*CONCLUSIONS@#Although the PRAME gene cannot be monitored as MRD, overexpression of PRAME suggests a good prognosis in B-ALL.

The Impact of Induction Treatment Response on the Prognosis of Pediatric Core Binding Factor-Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the impact of induction treatment response on the prognosis of pediatric core binding factor-acute myeloid leukemia (CBF-AML).@*METHODS@#The result of induce reaction and survival data of 157 pediatric CBF-AML patients in our hospital from September 2008 to December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed．The survival rate of the patients with different degrees of morphological remission after induction chemotherapy was comparative analyzed.@*RESULTS@#Among the 157 children with CBF-AML, 113 (72.4%) patients achieved morphologic leukemia-free state (MLFS) after the first course of induction chemotherapy, 153 (98.1%) patients achieved MLFS after the second course of induction chemotherapy. The 5-year event-free survival (EFS) rate and 5-year overall survival (OS) rate of patients with non-remission (NR) status after the first course of induction of chemotherapy was significantly lower than the patients achieved MLFS and the patients achieved partial remission (PR). The 5-year EFS rate and 5-year OS rate of the patients with PR status after the second course of induction chemotherapy were lower than the patients achieved MLFS, but the difference was not statistically significant. Multivariable analyze showed that NR after the first course of induction chemotherapy and myeloid sarcoma were the independent risk factors affecting EFS of the patients. There were six patients with NR status after the first course of induction chemotherapy, in which all of them harbored t(8;21), three of them with sex chromosome deletion, two of them with myeloid sarcoma.@*CONCLUSION@#NR status after the first course of induction chemotherapy was the independent risk factor affecting EFS and OS of CBF-AML patients, it can be taken as an indicator for higher risk stratification. PR status after the first course of induction chemotherapy may not be used as a diagnostic criterion for primary drug resistance.

Clinical characteristics and prognostic analysis of pediatric pro-B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia / 中国当代儿科杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the clinical-biological characteristics and prognosis of pediatric pro-B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (pro-B-ALL).@*METHODS@#A total of 64 patients aged less than 18 years old with pro-BALL were enrolled. Clinical characteristics, therapeutic effect and prognostic factors were retrospectively analyzed.@*RESULTS@#Pro-B-ALL occurred in 6.23% (64/1 028) of pediatric ALL. Among the 64 patients, 35 were male and 29 were female. The median age was 7.0 years (range 0.4-16.0 years) at diagnosis, of which 39% and 6% were ≥ 10 years old and < 1 year old respectively. The median WBC count was 25.5×10@*CONCLUSIONS@#Pediatric pro-B ALL is a heterogeneous disease with clinical and biological diversity. Biological characteristics, such as immunological markers, genetic alterations, and MRD at 3 months after chemotherapy may be important factors for the long-term prognosis.

Influence of dasatinib treatment on body height in children with acute myeloid leukemia / 中国当代儿科杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To study the influence of dasatinib treatment on body height in children with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).@*METHODS@#A retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 86 AML children aged <17 years. According to the treatment regimen, these children were divided into a conventional chemotherapy group and a dasatinib chemotherapy group. The 57 children in the conventional chemotherapy group were given conventional chemotherapy drugs without tyrosine kinase inhibitor, and the 29 children in the dasatinib chemotherapy group were given conventional chemotherapy drugs and dasatinib. The two groups were compared in terms of height standard deviation score (HtSDS) at the beginning of treatment and after treatment, as well as the change in HtSDS after 1 and 2 years of treatment.@*RESULTS@#There was no significant difference in HtSDS between the conventional and dasatinib chemotherapy groups before treatment. Within the first two years of treatment, the dasatinib chemotherapy group had a similar change trend of HtSDS as the conventional chemotherapy group. Four children in the dasatinib chemotherapy group reached the final adult height during follow-up, which was significantly lower than the target height (P=0.044). In the conventional chemotherapy group, there was no significant difference between final adult height and target height. In the dasatinib chemotherapy group, the children in adolescence had a significant change in HtSDS after treatment (P=0.032).@*CONCLUSIONS@#Dasatinib treatment may affect the final height of children with AML, and the use of dasatinib after the beginning of adolescence may lead to growth disorder, but dasatinib treatment has little effect on body height in the short-term treatment.

Prognostic impact of loss of sex chromosomes in children with acute myeloid leukemia subtype M2 / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the relationship between loss of sex chromosomes and prognosis in children with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) M2 subtype.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>According to cytogenetic characteristics, 106 children with AML were divided into three groups: patients with normal karyotype (Group A, n=26), patients with abnormal karyotype who had no loss of sex chromosomes (Group B, n=52), and patients with abnormal karyotype who had loss of sex chromosomes (Group C, n=28). Prognosis was compared between the three groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The 5-year event-free survival (EFS) rates of Groups A, B, and C were (38.9±11.2)%, (59.3±7.3)%, and (66.5±10.5)%, respectively; the EFS of Group C was significantly higher than that of Group A (P=0.035). The 5-year overall survival (OS) rates of Groups A, B, and C were (54.3±13.5)%, (68.1±7.7)%, and (77.9±9.8)%, respectively (P>0.05). The 5-year EFS of 58 patients with t(8;21) was (63.3±7.3)%, significantly higher than that of patients with normal karyotype (P=0.015). All the 28 cases in Group C had t(8;21), and their 5-year EFS was not significantly different from that of patients with t(8;21) in Group B (P>0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Loss of sex chromosomes is a favorable karyotype in children with AML M2 subtype and the patients in this group mostly have t(8;21). Why loss of sex chromosomes indicates a favorable prognosis is probably because it is accompanied by t(8;21) in the patients.</p>

Analysis of life-threatening central never system complications of acute leukemia in 26 children / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics and risk factors of childhood acute leukemia (AL) with severe neurologic complications.Methods From Jun.1991 to Mar.2011,26 AL patients with severe neurologic complications in Peking University People's Hospital were enrolled.The incidence,clinical features,and risk factors for severe neurologic complications were retrospectively analyzed.Results There 26 patients included 8 cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia,17 cases of acute myeloid leukemia(AML) and 1 case of acute mixed lineage leukemia.There were 20 patients taking CT scan and 17 patients were confirmed with intracranial hemorrhage.Six cases of AML without CT scan were dead.The patients suffering from intracranial hemorrhage all had intraparenchymal hemorrhage.The AML-M5 with intracranial hemorrhage had higher white blood cell count and higher level of L-lactate dehydrogenase than those without intracranial hemorrhage.These were 5 cases(31.25％) of AML with platelet count ＜ 20 × 109/L,12 cases(70.58％) of AML with prolonged prothrombin time,7 cases(41.17％) of AML with prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time,and 8 cases(47.06％) of AML with low fibrinogen when the severe neurologic complication occurred.Conclusions The most common type of severe neurologic complications of childhood AL is intracranial hemorrhage.The patients with AML are prone to occur intracranial hemorrhage.Intensive blood production transfusion may be beneficial to reduce the probability of intracranial hemorrhage in these patients.

Therapeutic effect of clofarabine in children with relapsed or refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the efficacy and adverse effects of clofarabine for relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Twenty-six pediatric patients with relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia were treated with clofarabine. There were 22 males and 4 females, with a mean age of 9.5 years (ranging from 4 to 17 years). They received clofarabine 52 mg/m2 intravenously over 2 hours daily for 5 days. Thirteen patients received two cycles and one patient received three cycles.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In the first cycle of clofarabine, complete remission was obtained in 11 children (42%) and partial remission was obtained in 7 children (27%). Eight children (31%) were considered unresponsive. In the second cycle, 11 (85%) of the 13 children obtained complete remission, 1 (8%) partial remission and 1 (8%) was unresponsive. One child received three cycles and obtained complete remission in each cycle. The common adverse events were myelosuppression, infection, liver dysfunction and gastrointestinal adverse reactions. There were no chemotherapy-related deaths.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Clofarabine is effective in the treatment of children with relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia and its adverse effects can be tolerated. Clofarabine could be a promising new treatment for relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia.</p>

Exploration of pediatrics clinical probation teaching methods for eight-year program medical students / 中华医学教育探索杂志

To improve the effect of pediatrics clinical probation teaching for eight-year program medical students,the exploration and practice of case-based instruction teaching with symptoms as main line,reading reports,and application of high quality counterfeit baby simulator-assisted instruction were carried out,which could inspire students' learning interest,and contribute to the training of students'clinical and scientific thought,their self-education and clinical skills.

Clinical characteristics of children with B cell type acute lymphoblastic leukemia carrying different fusion gene / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate whether there were differences in the clinical characteristics, cytogenetic characteristics, immunophenotype and prognosis in children with B cell type acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) carrying different fusion genes.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The research included 80 children with B-ALL from Peking University People's Hospital between March 2006 and December 2008. Eighteen children were positive for TEL/AML1, 14 for E2A/PBX1, 11 for BCR/ABL,and 2 cases for MLL/AF4, and 35 cases were negative for all of the 4 fusion genes. Data including clinical characteristics, morphology, immunophenotype and cytogenetic characteristics were collected, and the disease-free survival (DFS) was evaluated. The children were followed up until April 2009.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In the 18 children with TEL/AML1+B-ALL, 66.7% were younger than 5 years old. They had low tumor load. FAB-L2 morphology was commonly observed, but t(12;21) was often absence in these children. Up to now,17 children who survived were disease-free. In the 14 children with E2A/PBX1+B-ALL, the majority were female. Thirteen children showed FAB-L1 morphology. Twelve children showed pre-B-ALL immunophenotype. The EFS was close to 80%. In the 11 children with BCR/ABL+B-ALL, 10 children showed common B type immunophenotype. FAB-L1 and FAB-L2 morphology was found in 4 children respectively. The DFS was less than 20%. Two children with MLL/AF4 positive B-ALL had high tumor load. Their morphologic diagnosis was FAB-L1. Both showed the Pro-B-ALL immunophenotype. One child discontinued treatment at the early stage of chemotherapy, and the other child survived disease-free until now.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The B-ALL children with different fusion genes have different clinical characteristics, immunophenotypes and prognosis.</p>