Effect of body mass index on the prognosis of children and adolescents with high-grade mature B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

BACKGROUND: Little progress has been made in determining the prognostic factors for children and adolescents with high-grade mature B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (HG B-NHL). Based on the important role of body mass index (BMI) in cancer, this study explored the effect of BMI on the prognosis of patients with HG B-NHL. METHODS: Patients aged <18 years with newly diagnosed HG B-NHL were enrolled. Patients were divided into normal, overweight, obese, and emaciated BMI groups according to the growth criteria for children and adolescents. RESULTS: In total, 435 patients were enrolled in this study. There were 329 (75.6%), 46 (10.6%), 13 (3.0%), and 47 (10.8%) patients stratified into the normal, overweight, obese, and emaciated BMI groups, respectively. The event-free survival and overall survival rates of the entire cohort were 89.3% and 92.4%, respectively. The 5-year event-free survival rate for the patients with obese BMI was worse than those with overweight BMI (76.2% vs. 95.6%, p = .04). The 5-year overall survival rate for the patients with emaciated BMI was worse than those with normal (84.5% vs. 93.1%, p = .04) or overweight BMI (84.5% vs. 97.7%, p = .03). Cox multivariate analysis showed that obese or emaciated BMI at diagnosis was associated with an increased risk of death (p = 0.04; HR, 2.26) and was identified as an independent adverse prognostic factor in pediatric HG B-NHL. CONCLUSION: Obese or emaciated BMI at diagnosis is associated with poor prognosis in pediatric HG B-NHL and can be used for risk stratification.

Treatment outcomes for response-based radiotherapy in children and adolescents with central nervous system germinoma: a prospective study.

PURPOSE: The optimal dose and range of radiotherapy for central nervous system (CNS) germinoma have not yet been established. This study aimed to investigate the effects of individualized radiotherapy on the prognosis of patients with germinoma. METHODS: Based on imaging examination, tumor markers, and pathologic results, patients with germinoma received different radiotherapy strategies, including R1 (24 Gy whole ventricular irradiation + tumor-bed boost to 40 Gy), R2 (24-30 Gy craniospinal irradiation + tumor-bed boost to 54 Gy), R3 (24 Gy craniospinal irradiation + tumor-bed boost to 40 Gy), and R4 (30 Gy craniospinal irradiation + tumor-bed boost to 54 Gy with 45 Gy to spinal metastasis). RESULTS: A total of 77 patients were enrolled in this study between January 2015 and March 2021. The 3-year event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) of the whole cohort were 94.7% ± 2.6% and 96.0% ± 2.3%, respectively. The 3-year EFS for patients with localized and metastatic disease were 96.6% ± 2.4% and 89.2% ± 7.2%, respectively. The 3-year EFS of patients receiving R1, R2, R3, and R4 radiotherapy were 100%, 94.1% ± 5.7%, 100%, and 86.2% ± 9.1%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Good prognosis was still achieved after reducing dose and extent of radiation for the patients who achieved complete response (CR) after induction chemotherapy or pathological CR after second-look surgery.

Vincristine and dexamethasone pulses in addition to maintenance therapy among pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (GD-ALL-2008): An open-label, multicentre, randomized, phase III clinical trial.

The efficacy and safety on the addition of vincristine (VCR) and dexamethasone (DEX) pulses to maintenance therapy among childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) remain uncertain. Herein, we perform an open-label, multicentre, randomized, phase III clinical trial that was conducted at nine major medical centers in Guangdong Province, China. Patients were randomly assigned either the conventional maintenance therapy (control group, n = 384) or the VCR/DEX pulse (treatment group, n = 375). When limited to the SR cohort, 10-year EFS was 82.6% (95% CI: 75.9-89.9) in the control group and 80.7% (95% CI: 74-88.1) in the treatment group (pnon-inferiority  = .0002). Similarly, patients with IR also demonstrated non-inferiority of the treatment group to the control group in terms of 10-year EFS (73.6% [95% CI: 67.6-80] vs. 77.6% [95% CI: 71.8-83.9]; pnon-inferiority  = .005). Among the HR cohort, compared with the control group, patients in the treatment group experienced a significant benefit in terms of 10-year EFS (61.1% [95% CI: 47.7-78.2] vs. 72.6% [95% CI: 55.6-94.7], p = .026) and a trend toward higher 10-year OS (73.8% [95% CI: 61.6-88.4] vs. 87.9% [95% CI: 579.2-97.5], p = .068). In the HR cohort, the total rate of drug-induced liver injury and Grade 3 chemotherapy-induced anemia were both lower for patients in the treatment group than in the control group (55.6% vs. 100%, p = .033; 37.5% vs. 60%, p = .036). Conversely, the total prevalence of chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia was higher for patients in the treatment group than in the control group (88.9% vs. 40%, p = .027). Pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia with high risk is suitable to VCR/DEX pulse during maintenance phase for the excellent outcome, while the standard-to-intermediate-risk patients could eliminate the pulses.

Efficacy and safety comparison between R-CHOP and modified NHL-BFM-90 regimens in children and adolescents with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Studies comparing the efficacy and safety of R-CHOP and modified non-Hodgkin lymphoma Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster-90 (NHL-BFM-90) regimens in children and adolescents with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) are lacking. Thus, we retrospectively analyzed 85 DLBCL patients aged ≤18 years from 2000 to 2020; 74 patients received the modified NHL-BFM-90 regimen, and 11 received the R-CHOP regimen. The 5-year OS and event-free survival (EFS) rates between the modified NHL-BFM-90 and R-CHOP regimens were 91.0% vs. 90.9% (P = 0.466) and 89.8% vs. 68.6% (P = 0.055), respectively. In the stratified analysis, the survival outcome of pediatric patients treated with the modified NHL-BFM-90 regimen was not significantly different from that of adolescent patients. The OS and EFS rates of patients with early-stage disease were both 100%. Patients in the advanced-stage group who were treated with the modified NHL-BFM-90 regimen had superior EFS rates (P < 0.05). The frequency of severe adverse events from the two regimens was similar. There were no treatment-related deaths. We concluded that the modified NHL-BFM-90 regimen has better efficacy than R-CHOP in DLBCL patients with advanced-stage disease. However, the R-CHOP regimen might be an option for early-stage DLBCL. Further prospective studies are needed to guide clinical decisions about treatment.

Comparison of chemotherapy with or without asparaginase for extranodal nasal NK/T-cell lymphoma in children and adolescents.

PURPOSE: As extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (ENKTL) occurs rarely in children and adolescents, standardized therapy is yet to be determined. This study aimed to describe the clinical features and determine the optimal chemotherapy regimen for childhood ENKTL. METHODS: The treatment outcomes of radiotherapy combined with asparaginase-based (P-GEMOX or P-GMED) or asparaginase-absent chemotherapy regimens (CHOP, EPOCH, or NHL-BFM-90/95) in patients aged ≤18 years with newly diagnosed ENKTL from December 2006 to December 2018 were compared. RESULTS: Among the 34 patients included in the study, 21 had stage I/II disease. The overall response rates of chemotherapy with or without asparaginase were 85.0% and 78.6%, respectively. With a median follow-up of 54 months, the 5-year event-free survival (EFS) rates of patients with stage I/II and III/IV disease were 66.2 ± 11.3% and 26.0 ± 12.8%, respectively (P = .027). In stage III/IV patients treated with asparaginase-based or asparaginase-absent regimens, the 5-year EFS rates were 40.0 ± 17.4% and 0%, respectively (P = .236). The 5-year EFS rates of stage III/IV patients who received or did not receive hematopoietic stem cell transplant were 66.7 ± 27.2% and 11.1 ± 10.5%, respectively (P = .054). In addition, chemotherapy-associated side effects were significantly less in patients treated with asparaginase-based regimens as compared to asparaginase-absent regimens in this cohort. CONCLUSION: P-GEMOX and P-GMED regimens are effective and safe for treating childhood ENKTL.

Multimodal Treatment of Children With Sacrococcygeal Yolk Sac Tumor: Retrospective Analysis of Clinicopathology Characteristics and Relapse-free Survival.

The aim of the study was to explore the clinicopathologic characteristics of sacrococcygeal yolk sac tumor (SYST) associated with relapse and the role of sensitivity to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in predicting outcome. The authors investigated prognostic factors of age, stage, initial tumor size, pathologic response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and alfa fetoprotein. A total of 26 patients with SYST were enrolled. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy was administered to 20 cases. Six patients underwent resection as initial therapy. Recurrence occurred in 12 patients. Nine patients with specimens exhibiting no malignant component after chemotherapy did not experience recurrence. By contrast, relapses occurred in 7 of 11 patients with viable residual tumor after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. All relapsed patients still achieved partial remission or complete remission after salvage therapy. Five-year relapse-free survival and overall survival rates were 55.2% and 100%, respectively (median follow-up, 59.5 mo; range, 16 to 155). Patients with complete necrosis after neoadjuvant chemotherapy had a better outcome compared with children with viable residual tumor. Relapse-free survival of pediatric SYSTs in this cohort were still low and warrants the multidisciplinary effort.

The prognosis of prechemotherapy blastemal predominant histology subtype in Wilms tumor: A retrospective study in China.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to retrospectively analyze survival outcomes for Chinese patients with prechemotherapy blastemal predominant histology type Wilms tumors (WTs). METHODS: We collected and analyzed clinical data concerning patients aged <15 years with favorable histology (FH) WTs treated at the Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center from December 2005 to May 2016, based on the Children's Oncology Group protocol. Pathological specimens were collected through biopsy or surgical resection before initiation of chemotherapy. We analyzed survival outcomes involving different prechemotherapy histology subtypes. RESULTS: We enrolled 97 patients with FH WTs (median follow-up, 71.5 months; range, 22.2-170.7). The total recurrence rate was 17.5%, and the subtype recurrence rates were as follows: blastemal predominant (45.5%), mixed (7.5%), epithelial (14.3%), and mesenchymal (9.5%) (P = .010). Five-year event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were 84.9% and 81.4%, respectively. Respective 5-year EFS and OS rates for subtypes were as follows: blastemal predominant (54.5% and 68.2%), mixed (90.0% and 88.9%), epithelial (85.7% and 85.1%), and mesenchymal (90.5% and 94.7%). Multivariate survival analyses showed that the blastemal predominant subtype was an independent prognostic factor of EFS (P = .001) and OS (P = .017). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings showed that prechemotherapy blastemal predominant WTs had higher recurrence and lower EFS and OS rates. Our findings suggested that, albeit with some deficiencies, blastemal predominant histology WT-diagnosed prechemotherapy may have prognostic relevance. Further research into other potential confounding variables are required to determine whether such patients warrant altered risk-stratified therapy.

Rituximab is highly effective in children and adolescents with Burkitt lymphoma in Risk Groups R2 to R4.

Data regarding the use of rituximab in children and adolescents with Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) is limited. This study retrospectively analyzed the effect of rituximab on children and adolescents with BL in risk group (R) 2 to R4. Patients underwent chemotherapy according to the revised NHL-BFM-95 protocol. Rituximab was administered at the dose of 375 mg/m2 on day 0 of each cycle. A total of 106 patients were included. Stratified by the number of doses of rituximab, there were 49, 16, and 41 patients in group 1 (no rituximab), group 2 (1-3 doses of rituximab) and group 3 (≥4 doses of rituximab), respectively. The 3-year event-free survival (EFS) rates were 83.2% (95% CI = 72.6%-93.8%), 81.2% (95% CI = 52.3%-93.5%) and 96.8% (95% CI = 78.8%-99.6%) in group 1, group 2 and group 3, respectively (p = 0.077). In R2/R3, the relapse rates were 0 in patients treated with rituximab and 11.8% in those treated without rituximab (p = 0.516). In R4, the relapse rates were 18.8%, 21.4% and 3.0% in group 1, group 2 and group 3, respectively (p = 0.048). Rituximab is highly effective in children and adolescents with BL in R2 to R4. The optimal number of doses was 4-6 in patients with BL in R4.

An inflammation-based cumulative prognostic score system in patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma in rituximab era.

BACKGROUND: Systemic inflammatory parameters are associated with poor outcomes in malignant patients. Several inflammation-based cumulative prognostic score systems were established for various solid tumors. However, there is few inflammation based cumulative prognostic score system for patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 564 adult DLBCL patients who had received rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisolone (R-CHOP) therapy between Nov 1 2006 and Dec 30 2013 and assessed the prognostic significance of six systemic inflammatory parameters evaluated in previous studies by univariate and multivariate analysis:C-reactive protein(CRP), albumin levels, the lymphocyte-monocyte ratio (LMR), the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio(NLR), the platelet-lymphocyte ratio(PLR)and fibrinogen levels. RESULTS: Multivariate analysis identified CRP, albumin levels and the LMR are three independent prognostic parameters for overall survival (OS). Based on these three factors, we constructed a novel inflammation-based cumulative prognostic score (ICPS) system. Four risk groups were formed: group ICPS = 0, ICPS = 1, ICPS = 2 and ICPS = 3. Advanced multivariate analysis indicated that the ICPS model is a prognostic score system independent of International Prognostic Index (IPI) for both progression-free survival (PFS) (p < 0.001) and OS (p < 0.001). The 3-year OS for patients with ICPS =0, ICPS =1, ICPS =2 and ICPS =3 were 95.6, 88.2, 76.0 and 62.2%, respectively (p < 0.001). The 3-year PFS for patients with ICPS = 0-1, ICPS = 2 and ICPS = 3 were 84.8, 71.6 and 54.5%, respectively (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The prognostic value of the ICPS model indicated that the degree of systemic inflammatory status was associated with clinical outcomes of patients with DLBCL in rituximab era. The ICPS model was shown to classify risk groups more accurately than any single inflammatory prognostic parameters. These findings may be useful for identifying candidates for further inflammation-related mechanism research or novel anti-inflammation target therapies.

Suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid sensitizes neuroblastoma to paclitaxel by inhibiting thioredoxin-related protein 14-mediated autophagy.

Paclitaxel is not as effective for neuroblastoma as most of the front-line chemotherapeutics due to drug resistance. This study explored the regulatory mechanism of paclitaxel-associated autophagy and potential solutions to paclitaxel resistance in neuroblastoma. The formation of autophagic vesicles was detected by scanning transmission electron microscopy and flow cytometry. The autophagy-associated proteins were assessed by western blot. Autophagy was induced and the autophagy-associated proteins LC3-I, LC3-II, Beclin 1, and thioredoxin-related protein 14 (TRP14), were found to be upregulated in neuroblastoma cells that were exposed to paclitaxel. The inhibition of Beclin 1 or TRP14 by siRNA increased the sensitivity of the tumor cells to paclitaxel. In addition, Beclin 1-mediated autophagy was regulated by TRP14. Furthermore, the TRP14 inhibitor suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) downregulated paclitaxel-induced autophagy and enhanced the anticancer effects of paclitaxel in normal control cancer cells but not in cells with upregulated Beclin 1 and TRP14 expression. Our findings showed that paclitaxel-induced autophagy in neuroblastoma cells was regulated by TRP14 and that SAHA could sensitize neuroblastoma cells to paclitaxel by specifically inhibiting TRP14.

Decorin gene upregulation mediated by an adeno-associated virus vector increases intratumoral uptake of nab-paclitaxel in neuroblastoma via inhibition of stabilin-1.

The availability of effective medication for the treatment of refractory or recurrent neuroblastoma remains limited. This study sought to investigate the effects of increased decorin (DCN) expression on the intratumoral uptake of nab-paclitaxel as a potential novel approach to NB. Correlation between the clinical characteristics of neuroblastoma and the expression of DCN, secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) and stabilin-1 was evaluated. The anticancer effect of recombinant adeno-associated virus-DCN (rAAV-DCN) was assessed in vivo and in vitro. And the effect of rAAV-DCN on the intratumoral uptake of paclitaxel was also studied in neuroblastoma-grafted nude mice. Overall, 12.5%, 17.7%, and 71.9% of the tumors stained positive for DCN, SPARC and stabilin-1 respectively and correlated to age, stage and N-MYC status in 96 children and adolescents with neuroblastoma. Transfected neuroblastoma cells stably expressed DCN, with in vivo and in vitro studies demonstrating rAAV-DCN sensitized the anticancer effect of nab-paclitaxel. Systemic rAAV-DCN in neuroblastoma-grafted nude mice inhibited stabilin-1, up-regulated SPARC, and increased the intratumoral uptake of paclitaxel. Macrophage depletion or anti-stabilin-1 monoclonal antibody increased the intratumoral uptake of nab-paclitaxel and its anticancer effects to a degree comparable to that achieved by systemic rAAV-DCN. The systemic administration of rAAV-DCN up-regulates DCN in neuroblastoma and accelerates the intratumoral uptake of nab-paclitaxel by inhibiting stabilin-1 mediated SPARC degradation.

Effect of chemotherapy alone with adult chemotherapy regimens on prognosis of children and adolescents with Hodgkin's disease.

OBJECTIVE: A current focus on the treatment of children and adolescents with Hodgkin's disease is identification of subgroups of patients for whom radiotherapy can be omitted without compromising clinical outcome. We evaluated the feasibility of using adult chemotherapy regimens alone to treat children and adolescents with Hodgkin's disease. METHODS: Recruitment inclusion criteria were children and adolescents ≤18 years old who were newly diagnosed as Hodgkin's disease. Chemotherapy comprised four cycles of ABVD, six cycles of ABVD or COPP/ABV and six cycles of BEACOPP/ABVD chemotherapy regimens in the low-, intermediate- and high-risk groups, respectively. Radiotherapy was omitted for patients with low-risk, nonbulky disease who had achieved complete remission after chemotherapy and patients who failed to undergo the scheduled radiotherapy due to various reasons beyond the disease. RESULTS: Seventy-five children and adolescents were recruited, including 28, 24 and 23 patients in the low-, intermediate- and high-risk groups, respectively. With a median follow-up of 48 months, 4-year event-free survival and 4-year overall survival were 77.6% ± 5% and 95.3% ± 3%, respectively, in the whole cohort. The 4-year event-free survival in the low-, intermediate- and high-risk groups were 88.2% ± 6%, 78.1% ± 9% and 66.2% ± 11%, respectively (P = 0.062). Sixteen patients (21.3%) relapsed and four died from tumor progression. CONCLUSIONS: Over three-quarters of children and adolescents with Hodgkin's disease achieved long-term event-free survival after receiving chemotherapy alone with adult chemotherapy regimens, and radiotherapy-related toxicity was avoided.

Survival analysis of children with stage II testicular malignant germ cell tumors treated with surgery or surgery combined with adjuvant chemotherapy.

For children with stage II testicular malignant germ cell tumors (MGCT), the survival is good with surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy. However, there is limited data on surgical results for cases in which there was no imaging or pathologic evidence of residual tumor, but in which serum tumor markers either increased or failed to normalize after an appropriate period of half-life time post-surgery. To determine the use of chemotherapy for children with stage II germ cell tumors, we analyzed the outcomes (relapse rate and overall survival) of patients who were treated at the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center between January 1990 and May 2013. Twenty-four pediatric patients with a median age of 20 months (range, 4 months to 17 years) were enrolled in this study. In 20 cases (83.3%), the tumors had yolk sac histology. For definitive treatment, 21 patients underwent surgery alone, and 3 patients received surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy. No relapse was observed in the 3 patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy, whereas relapse occurred in 16 of the 21 patients (76.2%) treated with surgery alone. There were a total of 2 deaths. Treatment was stopped for 1 patient, who died 3 months later due to the tumor. The other patient achieved complete response after salvage treatment, but developed lung and pelvic metastases 7 months later and died of the tumor after stopping treatment. For children treated with surgery alone and surgery combined with adjuvant chemotherapy, the 3-year event-free survival rates were 23.8% and 100%, respectively (P = 0.042), and the 3-year overall survival rates were 90.5% and 100%, respectively (P = 0.588). These results suggest that adjuvant chemotherapy can help to reduce the recurrence rate and increase the survival rate for patients with stage II germ cell tumors.

Brain metastasis in children with stage 4 neuroblastoma after multidisciplinary treatment.

INTRODUCTION: Brain metastasis is common in relapsed neuroblastoma patients, but the characteristics of brain metastasis remain largely unknown. This study aimed to investigate the status of brain metastasis with neuroblastoma in South China. METHODS: In this retrospective case-based study, 106 patients with stage 4 neuroblastoma from the Department of Pediatric Oncology in Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center between January 2004 and May 2013 were included. The incidence, risk factors, and survival status of these patients were reviewed and analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 106 patients, 11 (10.4%) developed brain metastasis, accounting for 20.0% of 55 patients with relapse or progression. The age at initial diagnosis of the 11 patients ranged from 2 to 10 years (median 4 years), which was younger than that of the patients without brain metastasis (median 5 years, range 1-10 years, P=0.073). The male to female ratio of the 11 patients was 8:3, which was not significantly different from that of the patients without brain metastasis (P=0.86). Patients with brain metastasis had higher lactate dehydrogenase levels than those without brain metastasis, but the differences were not significant (P=0.076). Eight patients died, and 3 patients survived. The median interval from the initial diagnosis to the development of brain metastasis was 18 months (range 6-32 months). The median survival was 4 months (range 1 day to 29 months) after the diagnosis of brain metastasis. The median interval from the manifestation of brain metastasis to death was 3 months (range 1 day to 11 months). CONCLUSIONS: High-risk factors for brain metastasis in cases of neuroblastoma include bone marrow involvement and a younger age at initial diagnosis. Nevertheless, multiple treatment modalities can improve disease-free survival.

Treatment outcome of Chinese children with anaplastic large cell lymphoma by using a modified B-NHL-BFM-90 protocol.

Pediatric anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) has rarely been reported in Chinese pediatric patients. This study evaluated the clinical characteristics and treatment outcome of Chinese pediatric patients with ALCL. Between October 2002 and October 2012, 39 untreated pediatric patients with ALCL were enrolled at a single institution. The patients were stratified into three groups (R1, R2, and R3) based on the stage of the disease, clinical risk factors, and chemotherapeutic response, and received different intensive chemotherapy regimens based on a modified B-NHL-BFM-90 protocol. Of the 39 patients, 22 were boys, and 17 were girls, with a median age at diagnosis of 10 years (range 2-16 years), 91.2% were anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive. The patient groups R1, R2, and R3 accounted for 12.8%, 30.4%, and 56.4% of the total, respectively. 87.2% of patients were stage III/IV. At a median follow-up period of 52 months (range 15-136 months), seven patients relapsed and three patients died of their disease. The 5-year event-free survival for all patients was 81.4% ± 6.4%, with 100%, 83.3% ± 10% and 75.3% ± 9.8% for groups R1, R2, and R3, respectively. The overall survival for all patients was 92.2% ± 4.3%. Our study demonstrates that a risk-stratified treatment with a modified B-NHL-BFM-90 protocol is efficacious for Chinese children with ALCL.

The clinical characteristics and treatment outcome of 57 children and adolescents with primary central nervous system germ cell tumors.

Primary central nervous system germ cell tumors (CNS-GCTs) in children and adolescents have unique clinical features and methods of treatment compared with those in adults. There is little information about Chinese children and adolescents with CNS-GCTs. Therefore, in this study we retrospectively analyzed the clinical features and treatment outcome of Chinese children and adolescents with primary CNS-GCTs. Between January 2002 and December 2012, 57 untreated patients from a single institution were enrolled. They were diagnosed with CNS-GCTs after pathologic or clinical assessment. Of the 57 patients, 41 were males and 16 were females, with a median age of 12.8 years (range, 2.7 to 18.0 years) at diagnosis; 43 (75.4%) had non-germinomatous germ cell tumors (NGGCTs) and 14 (24.6%) had germinomas; 44 (77.2%) had localized disease and 13 (22.8%) had extensive lesions. Fifty-three patients completed the prescribed treatment, of which 18 underwent monotherapy of surgery, radiotherapy, or chemotherapy, and 35 underwent multimodality therapies that included radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy or surgery combined with chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. PEB (cisplatin, etoposide, and bleomycin) protocol was the major chemotherapy regimen. The median follow-up time was 32.3 months (range, 1.2 to 139 months). Fourteen patients died of relapse or disease progression. The 3-year event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival rates for all patients were 72.2% and 73.8%, respectively. The 3-year EFS was 92.9% for germinomas and 64.8% for NGGCTs (P = 0.064). The 3-year EFS rates for patients with NGGCTs who underwent monotherapy and multimodality therapies were 50.6% and 73.5%, respectively (P = 0.042). Our results indicate that multimodality therapies including chemotherapy plus radiotherapy were better treatment option for children and adolescents with CNS-GCTs.

Pegylated liposomal doxorubicin combined with cyclophosphamide and vincristine in pediatric patients with relapsed/refractory solid tumor: a single-arm, open-label, phase I study.

Background: The combined vincristine, pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD), and cyclophosphamide (VPC) regimen has never been studied in pediatric patients. Methods: This open-label, single-center, single-arm phase I study utilizing a "3 + 3" design enrolled children with relapsed/refractory (R/R) solid tumors. Three dose levels of PLD (Duomeisu®) were studied (30, 40, or 50 mg/m2) in combination with cyclophosphamide (1500 mg/m2), mesna (1500 mg/m2), and vincristine (1.5 mg/m2, maximum 2 mg) once every 3 weeks. The primary endpoints included safety, the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of PLD (Duomeisu®), and the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) of PLD (Duomeisu®) for further phase 2 investigation. The secondary endpoints were objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR). This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04213612. Findings: Between January 7, 2020, and November 18, 2021, 34 patients were eligible and evaluable for toxicity, while 26 patients were evaluable for response. The MTD of PLD (Duomeisu®) was 30 mg/m2. The most common adverse event (AE) was grade 3 or 4 neutropenia (61.8%). The most common grade 1 or 2 non-hematologic AE and cardiotoxicity effects were vomiting (35.3%) and abnormal electrocardiogram T waves (20.6%), respectively. ORR and DCR to VPC regimen after two cycles were 50.0% and 92.3%, respectively. Targeted gene panel sequencing revealed the activation of TP53 mutation may be an adverse prognostic factor. Interpretation: The VPC regimen showed a promising safety profile and had preliminary efficacy in children with R/R solid tumors. The RP2D for PLD (Duomeisu®) combined with cyclophosphamide and vincristine is 30 mg/m2 once every 3 weeks. Funding: CSPC Ouyi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Shijiazhuang, the National Key Research and Development Program of China [No. 2022YFC2705005], the National Natural Science Foundation of China [No. 82203303], and the Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province [No. 2021A1515110234].

MTHFD1 regulates the NADPH redox homeostasis in MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma.

MYCN amplification is an independent poor prognostic factor in patients with high-risk neuroblastoma (NB). Further exploring the molecular regulatory mechanisms in MYCN-amplified NB will help to develop novel therapy targets. In this study, methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase 1 (MTHFD1) was identified as the differentially expressed gene (DEG) highly expressed in MYCN-amplified NB, and it showed a positive correlation with MYCN and was associated with a poor prognosis of NB patients. Knockdown of MTHFD1 inhibited proliferation and migration, and induced apoptosis of NB cells in vitro. Mouse model experiments validated the tumorigenic effect of MTHFD1 in NB in vivo. In terms of the mechanism, ChIP-qPCR and dual-luciferase reporter assays demonstrated that MTHFD1 was directly activated by MYCN at the transcriptional level. As an important enzyme in the folic acid metabolism pathway, MTHFD1 maintained the NADPH redox homeostasis in MYCN-amplified NB. Knockdown of MTHFD1 reduced cellular NADPH/NADP+ and GSH/GSSG ratios, increased cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and triggered the apoptosis of NB cells. Moreover, genetic knockdown of MTHFD1 or application of the anti-folic acid metabolism drug methotrexate (MTX) potentiated the anti-tumor effect of JQ1 both in vitro and in vivo. Taken together, MTHFD1 as an oncogene is a potential therapeutic target for MYCN-amplified NB. The combination of MTX with JQ1 is of important clinical translational significance for the treatment of patients with MYCN-amplified NB.

The dual HDAC and PI3K inhibitor, CUDC­907, inhibits tumor growth and stem­like properties by suppressing PTX3 in neuroblastoma.

Neuroblastoma (NB) is one of the common solid tumors in childhood and poses a threat to the lives of children. Patients with advanced­stage or recurrent NB have a poor prognosis. CUDC­907, as a novel dual­target inhibitor of histone deacetylase (HDAC) and phosphatidylinositol­3­kinase (PI3K), has been proven to play an antitumor role in several types of tumors. However, the exact role of CUDC­907 in NB remains unclear. In the present study, in vivo and in vitro assays were performed to investigate the anti­NB activity of CUDC­907. Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) small interfering RNA (siRNA) and PTX3 overexpression plasmid were transfected into cells to define the underlying mechanisms of CUDC­907. Tumor tissues and clinical information were collected and immunohistochemistry (IHC) was conducted to analyze the association between the expression of HDAC1, HDAC2, HDAC3 and CD44, and the prognosis of patients with NB. The results indicated that CUDC­907 significantly inhibited the proliferation and migration, and induced the apoptosis of NB cells, downregulating the expression level of MYCN, and suppressing the PI3K/AKT and MAPK/ERK pathways. Furthermore, CUDC­907 suppressed the stem­like properties of NB cells by inhibiting PTX3, a ligand and upstream protein of CD44. IHC revealed that the high expression of HDAC1, 2, 3 and CD44 was associated with a poor prognosis of patients with NB. On the whole, these findings indicate that CUDC­907 may be developed into a possible therapeutic approach for patients with NB.

Treatment Outcome of Response-Based Radiation Therapy in Children and Adolescents With Central Nervous System Nongerminomatous Germ Cell Tumors: Results of a Prospective Study.

PURPOSE: The optimal dose and range of radiation therapy for central nervous system nongerminomatous germ cell tumors (NGGCTs) have not been uniformly established. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of individualized radiation therapy, based on the response to induction chemotherapy combined with surgery, on the prognosis of patients with NGGCTs. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Based on the imaging examination and tumor markers after induction chemotherapy and pathologic results of second-look surgery, patients with NGGCT received different radiation therapy strategies, including 30.6 Gy whole ventricular irradiation + tumor-bed boost to 54 Gy, 30.6 Gy craniospinal irradiation + tumor-bed boost to 54 Gy, 36 Gy craniospinal irradiation + tumor-bed boost to 54 Gy, and 36 Gy craniospinal irradiation + 54 Gy tumor-bed boost with 45 Gy to metastatic spinal lesions. RESULTS: A total of 51 patients were enrolled between January 2015 and March 2021, with a median age of 10.3 years. The 3-year event-free survival and overall survival (OS) of the entire cohort were 70.2% ± 6.9% and 77.5% ± 6.0%, respectively. The 3-year OS of patients achieving partial response after induction chemotherapy was higher than that of patients with stable disease (P = .03) or progressive disease (P = .002). The 3-year event-free survival and OS of the 18 patients receiving 30.6 Gy whole ventricular irradiation and 54 Gy tumor-bed boost were 88.9% ± 7.4% and 94.4% ± 5.4%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that an individualized radiation therapy strategy based on response to induction chemotherapy and surgery is a feasible and promising means of achieving reduction in dose and extent of radiation in patients while still providing good response.