Epidemiological evaluation and survival of children with acute myeloid leukemia

Abstract Objective: This study aims to describe the epidemiological characteristics and survival rates of children with acute myeloid leukemia treated in hospitals in southern Brazil and compare them with international data. Methods: A multicenter cohort study was conducted with retrospective data collection of all new patients with acute myeloid leukemia under 18 treated at five referral centers in pediatric hematology-oncology in southern Brazil between January 2005 and December 2015. Results: Of the 149 patients with acute myeloid leukemia, 63.0% (n = 94) were male. The median age at diagnosis was 10.5 years (range 0-18 years) and 40.3% (n = 60) had a white blood cell count below 50,000/mm2. The most common Franco-American-British (FAB) subtype was M3 (n = 43, 28.9%). Nine (6.0%) patients had central nervous system disease. In M3 patients, overall survival (OS) was 69.2% and 3-year event-free survival was 67.7%; in non-M3 patients, these rates were 45.3% and 36.7%, respectively. In non-M3 patients, OS was significantly different between transplanted (61.8%) and non-transplanted (38.2%) patients (p = 0.031). Conclusions: These results show a higher prevalence of the Franco-American-British M3 subtype than that reported in the international literature, as well as a decreased OS compared with that of developed countries. Further multicenter Brazilian studies with a larger sample size are encouraged to better understand the characteristics of acute myeloid leukemia, and to improve the treatment and prognosis in this population.

Are there regional variations in the presentation of childhood leukemia

Introduction: Treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is based on risk stratification. This study aimed to assess the agreement between risk group classifications in the different childhood ALL treatment protocols used in a referral hospital in southern Brazil. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients aged 1 to 18 years with B-cell ALL treated at a hospital from January 2013 to April 2017. Agreement between risk classifications was assessed by the kappa coefficient. Results: Seventy-five patients were analyzed. There was poor agreement between risk stratification by GBTLI 2009 and BFM 95 protocols (kappa = 0.22; p = 0.003) and by GBTLI 2009 and IC-BFM 2002 protocols (kappa = 0.24; p = 0.002). Risk group distribution was 13.3% for low risk, 32.0% for intermediate risk, and 54.7% for high risk based on stratification by the GBTLI 2009 protocol, and 28.0% for low risk, 42.7% for intermediate risk, and 29.3% for high risk based on stratification by the IC-BFM 2002 protocol. Overall survival was 68.6%. Conclusion: This study provides numerous points to ponder about the treatment of leukemia in Brazil. The percentage of patients classified as high risk in our sample was higher than that reported in the international literature. This difference, however, had no impact on overall survival, which was shorter than that reported in the international literature. (AU)

Influence of minimal residual disease by multiparametric flow cytometry at day 15 of induction in risk stratification of children with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated at a referral hospital in southern Brazil

ABSTRACT Background: The minimal residual disease (MRD) is the most important prognostic factor for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in children. This study aimed to investigate the influence of detecting the MRD by the multiparametric flow cytometry (MFC) at day 15 (D15) of the induction on the analysis of the risk group classifications of the different childhood ALL treatment protocols used in a referral hospital in southern Brazil. Method: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients with B-cell ALL, aged 1 to 18 years, treated at a hospital from January 2013 to April 2017. Main results: Seventy-five patients were analyzed. Regarding the MRD by the MFC at D15, the analyses showed statistical significance when the MRD was grouped into three categories, < 0.1%, 0.1-10%, and > 10%, with the following distribution: 30.7%, 52.0%, and 17.3%, respectively. There was a significant association between D15 MRD-MFC < 0.1% and the likelihood of dying or relapsing and between D15 MRD-MFC > 10% and the likelihood of dying or relapsing. The cumulative hazard ratio for the relapse of patients with D15 MRD-MFC < 0.1%, 0.1-10%, and > 10% was 19.2%, 59.8%, and 80.1%, respectively. Conclusion: Our analysis suggests D15 MRD-MFC < 0.1% as a cut-off point for patients with more favorable outcomes and that the MRD at D15 in risk classifications is particularly useful for the stratification of patients with a more favorable prognosis.

Câncer de tireoide na infância e na adolescência: estudo de casos e revisão da literatura / Thyroid cancer in childhood and adolescence: case study and literature review

Introdução: As neoplasias malignas da tireoide não são comuns na faixa etária pediátrica. O objetivo deste trabalho foi realizar um levantamento epidemiológico e clínico dos casos de câncer de tireoide (CT) atendidos no Hospital Universitário de Santa Maria (HUSM) entre 1993 e 2008, com descrição do diagnóstico e da terapêutica, acompanhado de uma revisão de literatura dessa patologia. Métodos: Estudo de demanda retrospectivo a partir do registro do Serviço de Patologia do Hospital Universitário de Santa Maria, RS (HUSM), no período de 1/1/1993 a 31/12/2008. Resultados: Nos 15 anos avaliados, foram encontrados 10 pacientes com diagnóstico de CT. Este estudo de casos inclui sete dos 10 pacientes; os demais foram excluídos devido à insuficiência de dados nos prontuários. O sexo feminino foi o mais acometido. Seis dos sete pacientes foram submetidos à tireoidectomia total com esvaziamento ganglionar. O tipo histológico predominante foi o carcinoma papilífero e o tamanho médio dos tumores foi de 2 cm. As metástases linfonodais foram encontradas em seis casos no momento do diagnóstico e o número médio de linfonodos acometidos foi quatro. Conclusão: Os resultados encontrados são consistentes com os achados epidemiológicos e clínicos encontrados na literatura para esta faixa etária. Destaca-se a importância do seguimento de um protocolo de manejo do CT dentro de um hospital universitário

Introduction: Malignant neoplasms of the thyroid are not common in pediatric patients. The aim of this study was to carry out an epidemiological and clinical survey of the cases of thyroid cancer (TC) treated at the University Hospital of Santa Maria (HUSM) between 1993 and 2008, with a description of diagnoses and treatment, together with a literature review of this disorder. Methods: A retrospective, demand study based on the registry of the Department of Pathology, University Hospital of Santa Maria-RS (HUSM) from 1/1/1993 to 31/12/2008. Results: Over the past 15 years, there were 10 patients diagnosed with TC. This case study includes seven of the 10 patients, the others were excluded because of insufficient data in the charts. Females were more affected. Six of seven patients underwent total thyroidectomy with lymph node dissection. The predominant histological type was papillary carcinoma and the average size of tumors was 2 cm. Lymph node metastases were found in six cases at diagnosis and the mean number of affected lymph nodes was four. Conclusion: The results are consistent with epidemiological and clinical findings in the literature for this age group. The study highlights the importance of following a management protocol of CT within a university hospital