Quality of life in children and adolescents after treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia according to the NOPHO ALL2008 protocol.

BACKGROUND: The improved outcome of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) over the last decades has increased the importance of assessing late effects and health-related quality of life (HRQoL), particularly when evaluating and comparing outcomes in clinical trials. This study aimed to assess HRQoL in children treated for ALL according to the NOPHO ALL2008 protocol. PROCEDURE: Children, aged 1 to less than 18 years at diagnosis, alive in first remission, and their parents, were asked to complete PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scales (self- and proxy-report) at ≥6 months after end of therapy. Data on socioeconomic factors and parent-reported toxicity were collected through a study-specific questionnaire, and the NOPHO ALL2008 database was used to identify eligible families and add additional disease- and treatment-related data. HRQoL data were collected during 2013-2019 in Sweden, Finland, and Denmark. RESULTS: A total of 299 children were included. The older children (8 years and older) reported similar HRQoL scores compared to Finnish reference data, except lower scores for School Functioning in high-risk patients. Scores from the parent-proxy and self-reports from 5-7-year olds were notably lower than reference. Parent-reported toxicity was associated with lower total and physical HRQoL scores in adjusted models for younger as well as older children in the self-report and parent-proxy versions, and also with lower psychosocial score in the parent-proxy. CONCLUSIONS: Self-reported HRQoL was similar to reference population. The most important determinant for HRQoL after end of ALL treatment was parent-reported toxicity during treatment. Thus, minimizing complications is an obvious focus for future treatment protocols.

Sequelae and post-thrombotic syndrome after venous thromboembolism in acute lymphoblastic leukemia survivors treated on the NOPHO ALL2008 protocol.

The treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is frequently complicated by toxicity, including venous thromboembolism (VTE) affecting roughly 8% of patients. VTE can lead to post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS), a group of signs and symptoms developed as a complication to deep venous thrombosis (DVT), imposing risk of permanent disability and reduced quality of life (QoL). PTS prevalence ranges from 0% to 70%, reflecting very heterogenous cohorts and assessment tools. We aimed to estimate sequelae, including PTS and QoL in children and adults (<45 years old) who had a DVT during ALL treatment. PTS and QoL scores were obtained through use of Villalta and Modified Villalta Scale, PedsQL, and Short Form-36 questionnaires. The cohort comprised 20 children (<18 years) and seven adults (median age: 12.9 years, range: 2-44 years) at the time of DVT diagnosis. In total, 25 ALL survivors underwent PTS examination. The examination took place when survivors were 7-48 years (median age: 20.3 years, median follow-up time 6.8 years). QoL was assessed correlating cases with three matching ALL survivors without VTE. Two adults (15.4%) showed mild or moderate PTS. Eight children (66.7%) were diagnosed with mild PTS, while three cases had collaterals as sole symptoms. Pain or symptoms affecting daily life were reported by 16%. No difference in QoL was found (p = .9). This study underscores the need for comprehensive population-based investigations with validation of PTS instruments in ALL survivors.

Pancreas-related persisting sequelae in ALL survivors with a history of asparaginase-associated pancreatitis: A part of the ALL-STAR study.

OBJECTIVES: Asparaginase-associated pancreatitis (AAP) occurs in up to 18% of patients treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL); however, long-term sequelae are largely unexplored. We aimed to explore pancreatic sequelae among ALL survivors with and without AAP. METHODS: We investigated pancreatic sequelae in a national cohort of ALL survivors, aged 1-45 years at ALL diagnosis treated according to the NOPHO-ALL2008 protocol and included sex- and age-matched community controls. RESULTS: We included 368 survivors (median follow-up 6.9 years), including 47 survivors with AAP and 369 controls. The p-lipase and p-pancreas-type amylase levels were lower in AAP survivors compared with both non-AAP survivors (Medians: 23 U/L [IQR 14-32] and 18 U/L [IQR 10-25] versus 29 [IQR 24-35] and 22 [17-28], p < .001 and p = .002) and community controls (28 U/L [IQR 22-33] and 21 U/L [IQR 17-26], both p < .006). Fecal-elastase was more frequently reduced in AAP survivors compared with non-AAP survivors (7/31 vs. 4/144, p = .001). Persisting pancreatic sequelae were found in 15/47 of AAP survivors and 20/323 of non-AAP survivors (p < .001), including diabetes mellitus in 2/39 of AAP survivors and 2/273 of non-AAP survivors. CONCLUSIONS: ALL survivors with AAP are at increased risk of persisting pancreatic dysfunction and require special attention during follow-up.

Increase in peg-asparaginase clearance as a predictor for inactivation in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Asparaginase is an essential component of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) therapy, yet its associated toxicities often lead to treatment discontinuation, increasing the risk of relapse. Hypersensitivity reactions include clinical allergies, silent inactivation, or allergy-like responses. We hypothesized that even moderate increases in asparaginase clearance are related to later inactivation. We therefore explored mandatory monitoring of asparaginase enzyme activity (AEA) in patients with ALL aged 1-45 years treated according to the ALLTogether pilot protocol in the Nordic and Baltic countries to relate mean AEA to inactivation, to build a pharmacokinetic model to better characterize the pharmacokinetics of peg-asparaginase and assess whether an increased clearance relates to subsequent inactivation. The study analyzed 1631 real-time AEA samples from 253 patients, identifying inactivation in 18.2% of the patients. This inactivation presented as mild allergy (28.3%), severe allergy (50.0%), or silent inactivation (21.7%). A pharmacokinetic transit compartment model was used to describe AEA-time profiles, revealing that 93% of patients with inactivation exhibited prior increased clearance, whereas 86% of patients without hypersensitivity maintained stable clearance throughout asparaginase treatment. These findings enable prediction of inactivation and options for either dose increments or a shift to alternative asparaginase formulations to optimize ALL treatment strategies.

A novel serum calprotectin (MRP8/14) particle-enhanced immuno-turbidimetric assay (sCAL turbo) helps to differentiate systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis from other diseases in routine clinical laboratory settings.

BACKGROUND: Differential diagnosis in children with signs of unprovoked inflammation can be challenging. In particular, differentiating systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (SJIA) from other diagnoses is difficult. We have recently validated the complex of myeloid-related proteins 8/14 (MRP8/14, also known as S100A8/A9 complex or serum calprotectin) as a helpful biomarker supporting the diagnosis of SJIA. The results were subsequently confirmed with a commercial ELISA. However, further optimization of the analytical technology is important to ensure its feasibility for large-scale use in routine laboratory settings. METHODS: To evaluate the accuracy in identifying children with SJIA, the performance of a particle-enhanced immuno-turbidimetric assay for serum calprotectin (sCAL turbo) on an automated laboratory instrument was analyzed. Samples from 615 children were available with the diagnoses SJIA (n = 99), non-systemic JIA (n = 169), infections (n = 51), other inflammatory diseases (n = 126), and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL, n = 147). In addition, samples from 23 healthy controls were included. RESULTS: The sCAL turbo assay correlated well with the MRP8/14 ELISA used in previous validation studies (r = 0.99, p < 0.001). It could reliably differentiate SJIA from all other diagnoses with significant accuracy (cutoff at 10,500 ng/ml, sensitivity 84%, specificity 94%, ROC area under curve 0.960, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Serum calprotectin analyses are a helpful tool supporting the diagnosis of SJIA in children with prolonged fever or inflammatory disease. Here, we show that an immuno-turbidimetric assay for detection of serum calprotectin on an automated laboratory instrument can be implemented in clinical laboratory settings to facilitate its use as a diagnostic routine test in clinical practice.

Parental experiences of the informed consent process in randomized clinical trials-A Nordic study.

BACKGROUND: Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) are an essential part of improving acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) treatment. This population-based questionnaire study investigated parents' experiences of the informed consent process in the RCTs within the Nordic NOPHO (Nordic Society of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology) ALL2008 trial. PROCEDURE: Parents in Sweden, Denmark, and Finland whose child was alive and in first remission after end of therapy and who were asked to participate in any RCT in the ALL2008 protocol, were asked to complete 15 questions/items regarding their experience of the RCT consent process. RESULTS: A total of 483 parents of 279 children met the inclusion criteria and answered the study questionnaire. Most (91%) agreed/strongly agreed to having received sufficient information to make a well-informed decision, felt confidence in the study design (86%), and thought that the process was satisfactory (86%). Those who did not consent reported a generally more negative experience of the process. More than a third of all parents and over half of parents who had refused participation felt that it was burdensome to decide. Most parents (66%) in general, and one-third of those with children 8 years or older, reported that their child was not involved in the process. CONCLUSIONS: Parents were in general satisfied with the informed consent process, although many parents, particularly those who refused participation, reported it as burdensome to make the decision concerning RCT. Fewer than expected of the school-aged children were involved in the decision process, which calls for attention on how children are included in the consent procedure in clinical trials.

A prospective evaluation of the diagnostic potential of EBV-DNA in plasma and whole blood.

BACKGROUND: Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-DNA is an important diagnostic tool for EBV-associated disease, but interpretation of its clinical significance is challenging. OBJECTIVES: We assessed the diagnostic and clinical performance of WHO-standardised qPCR for EBV-DNA (WHO EBV-qPCR) in plasma and whole blood (WB) for proven EBV disease in a prospectively accrued patient cohort. STUDY DESIGN: Central Denmark Region patients, tested with WHO EBV-qPCR from November 2017 to March 2019, were screened for EBV disease. Incidence (IR) was estimated by Poisson regression. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values (PPV, NPV) were calculated for EBV-qPCR in plasma and WB. Risk of diagnostic latency was compared between patients with EBV-positive and EBV-negative lymphomas. RESULTS: EBV disease was diagnosed in 95 of 1484 participants (IR: 16.3 per 1000 patientyears 95%CI; 13.3-19.9). Sensitivity and specificity of WHO EBV-qPCR in plasma was 82.4% (95% CI; 74.2-90.7%) and 87.8% (95% CI; 85.6-90%), yielding a PPV of 32.2% (95% CI; 24.9-39.5%) and NPV of 98.6% (95% CI; 97.7-99.5%) for proven EBV disease. Sensitivity and NPV were comparable in WB, while specificity and PPV decreased to 66.9% (95% CI; 60.6-73.1%) and 18.1% (95% CI; 7.5-28.7%). Risk of diagnostic latency was 2.3-fold (95% CI 1.4-4.1) higher for patients with EBV-positive compared with EBV-negative lymphomas. CONCLUSIONS: WHO EBV-qPCR in plasma and WB have a low PPV but a high NPV for proven EBV disease. Implementation of WHO EBV-qPCR could improve interpretation and facilitate EBV-positive lymphoma diagnosis.

Long-term effects of asparaginase-associated pancreatitis.

Pancreatitis is a common and severe toxicity that occurs during asparaginase treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and has received increasing attention during the last decades. However, no consensus regarding follow-up exists. In this commentary, we highlight potential long-term health-related effects following asparaginase-associated pancreatitis, thereby providing clinicians with a framework when following these patients during and after cessation of therapy.

Phagocyte-related S100 proteins and cytokines in acute lymphoblastic leukemia and their prognostic value.

In this retrospective cohort study, we evaluated the level of biomarkers of inflammation like phagocyte-related S100 proteins and a panel of cytokines in 128 children with pre-B ALL and 22 with T-ALL. The biomarkers were evaluated at diagnosis and during antileukemic therapy (day 29 and after six months) and we evaluated their correlation with basic laboratory values. Further, for the children with pre-B ALL, we evaluated whether the biomarkers could predict the outcome of ALL expressed as minimal residual disease (MRD), relapse, and death.The levels of S100A9, S100A12, IL-1beta, IL-12p70, IL-13, IL-17, IL-18, and MPO serum levels increased significantly as chemotherapy was initiated. The difference was most pronounced for S100A9 and S100A12, which had strong positive correlations with the neutrophil counts. In contrast, TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-10, CCL-2, MMP-3, and CD25 serum levels decreased after chemotherapy. Although none of these biomarkers appear to be an independent predictor of outcomes, in predictive models with MRD as the outcome, AUC increased from 76% (95% CI 68-84%) when using initial risk group stratification alone to 83% (95% CI 73-91%) in a multivariate predictive model including initial risk group stratification and the biomarkers S100A12, TNF-alpha, and IL-10.

Correlation between asparaginase enzyme activity levels and coagulation parameters during childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia treatment.

Thromboembolism is a serious toxicity in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), but little is known about the correlation between asparaginase enzyme activity (ASA) levels and coagulation parameters. We included 65 non-high risk ALL patients, aged 1-17 years. Coagulation parameters and corresponding ASA levels were measured during asparaginase treatment. We found ASA to be negatively correlated with antithrombin and fibrinogen up to ASA levels of 250 IU/L, after which these parameters reached a plateau and did not decrease further with further increase of ASA. Patients with silent inactivation of asparaginase had normal coagulation parameters.

Cerebral sinovenous thrombosis and asparaginase re-exposure in patients aged 1-45 years with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: A NOPHO ALL2008 study.

Cerebral sinovenous thrombosis (CSVT) is a serious complication during asparaginase therapy in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). We identified 46 patients with CSVT among 2651 patients (1‒45 years) treated according to the Nordic Society of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology (NOPHO) ALL2008 protocol between 2008 and 2018. CSVT cases were prospectively registered in the NOPHO database with retrospective updates. We examined the frequency of asparaginase re-exposure after CSVT, potential factors associated with asparaginase truncation, and sequelae after CSVT. This work was supported by the Danish Cancer Society and the Danish Childhood Cancer Foundation. The 2.5-year cumulative incidence of CSVT was 1.9% (95% confidence interval 1.4%-2.5%). The majority of patients (74%, n = 31) were re-exposed to asparaginase (with low-molecular-weight heparin coverage), one of whom had a second CSVT, without neurological sequelae. Patients re-exposed to asparaginase were earlier in ALL treatment and lacked more asparaginase doses than non-re-exposed patients at CSVT diagnosis (median 50 vs. 81 days, p = 0.03; mean 11.2 vs. 8.4 asparaginase doses, p = 0.04). No other examined factors had an impact on asparaginase re-exposure. At the last follow-up (median 4.5 years after CSVT), 61% of patients had normal neurological status, and 57% had complete recanalisation of CSVT, with no significant difference between patients re-exposed and non-re-exposed to asparaginase. Our results indicate that re-exposure to asparaginase is safe after CSVT during anticoagulation.

A survey on thromboprophylaxis and coagulation assessment in children and young adults with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) in the Nordic and Baltic countries: Different practices of assessment and management.

Patients undergoing treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) are at risk of coagulopathy, especially thromboembolism. We conducted a survey on practices in the assessment and management of coagulopathy during the new ALLTogether protocol in 29 (17 paediatric, 12 adult) Nordic and Baltic cancer centres. While 92% of adult centres used thromboprophylaxis with low-molecular-weight heparin, no paediatric centre did. Almost all providers performed baseline coagulation studies, but only 59% continued the assessment. Fibrinogen replacement was conducted in 59%, and antithrombin replacement in 28% of the centres. The survey highlights the need for guidelines in the management of coagulopathy during ALL therapy.

Temporal changes in incidence of relapse and outcome after relapse of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia over three decades; a Nordic population-based cohort study.

Relapse remains the main obstacle to curing childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The aims of this study were to compare incidence of relapse, prognostic factors, and survival after relapse between three consecutive Nordic Society of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology trials. Relapse occurred as a primary event in 638 of 4 458 children (1.0-14.9 years) diagnosed with Ph-negative ALL between 1992 and 2018. The 5-year cumulative incidence of relapse was 17.3% (95% CI 15.4-19.2%) and 16.5% (95% CI 14.3-18.8%) for patients in the ALL1992 and ALL2000 trials, respectively, but decreased to 8.4% (95% CI 7.0-10.1%) for patients in the ALL2008 trial. No changes in duration of first complete remission and site of relapse were observed over time; however, high hyperdiploidy, and t(12;21) decreased in the ALL2008 trial. The 4-year overall survival after relapse was 56.6% (95% CI 52.5-60.5%) and no statistically significant temporal improvements were observed. Age ≥10 years, T-cell immunophenotype, bone-marrow involvement, early and very early relapse, hypodiploidy, and Down syndrome all independently predicted worse outcome after relapse. Improvements in the primary treatment of childhood ALL has resulted in fewer relapses. However, failure to improve outcome of remaining relapses suggests a selection of harder-to-cure relapses and calls for new therapeutic strategies.

Asparaginase encapsulated in erythrocytes as second-line treatment in hypersensitive patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

Asparaginase is essential in treating acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). Asparaginase-related hypersensitivity causes treatment discontinuation, which is associated with decreased event-free survival. To continue asparaginase treatment after hypersensitivity, a formulation of asparaginase encapsulated in erythrocytes (eryaspase) was developed. In NOR-GRASPALL 2016 (NCT03267030) the safety and efficacy of eryaspase was evaluated in 55 patients (aged 1-45 years; median: 6.1 years) with non-high-risk ALL and hypersensitivity to asparaginase conjugated with polyethylene glycol (PEG-asparaginase). Eryaspase (150 u/kg) was scheduled to complete the intended course of asparaginase (1-7 doses) in two Nordic/Baltic treatment protocols. Forty-nine (96.1%) patients had asparaginase enzyme activity (AEA) ≥100 iu/l 14 ± 2 days after the first eryaspase infusion [median AEA 511 iu/l; interquartile range (IQR), 291-780], whereas six of nine (66.7%) patients had AEA ≥100 iu/l 14 ± 2 days after the fourth infusion (median AEA 932 iu/l; IQR, 496-163). The mean terminal half-life of eryaspase following the first infusion was 15.3 ± 15.5 days. Few asparaginase-related adverse events were reported; five patients (9.1%) developed clinical allergy associated with enzyme inactivation. Replacement therapy was successfully completed in 50 patients (90.9%). Eryaspase was well tolerated, and most patients had AEA levels above the therapeutic target after the first infusion. The half-life of eryaspase confirmed that a 2-week schedule is appropriate.

High CD34 surface expression in BCP-ALL predicts poor induction therapy response and is associated with altered expression of genes related to cell migration and adhesion.

Minimal residual disease (MRD) constitutes the most important prognostic factor in B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL). Flow cytometry is widely used in MRD assessment, yet little is known regarding the effect of different immunophenotypic subsets on outcome. In this study of 200 BCP-ALL patients, we found that a CD34-positive, CD38 dim-positive, nTdT dim-positive immunophenotype on the leukemic blasts was associated with poor induction therapy response and predicted an MRD level at the end of induction therapy (EOI) of ≥ 0.001. CD34 expression was strongly and positively associated with EOI MRD, whereas CD34-negative patients had a low relapse risk. Further, CD34 expression increased from diagnosis to relapse. CD34 is a stemness-associated cell-surface molecule, possibly involved in cell adhesion/migration or survival. Accordingly, genes associated with stemness were overrepresented among the most upregulated genes in CD34-positive leukemias, and protein-protein interaction networks showed an overrepresentation of genes associated with cell migration, cell adhesion, and negative regulation of apoptosis. The present work is the first to demonstrate a CD34-negative immunophenotype as a good prognostic factor in ALL, whereas high CD34 expression is associated with poor therapy response and an altered gene expression profile reminiscent of migrating cancer stem-like cells.

M-ficolin: a valuable biomarker to identify leukaemia from juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: Distinction on clinical grounds between acute lymphoblastic leukaemia presenting with arthropathy (ALLarthropathy) and juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is difficult, as the clinical and paraclinical signs of leukaemia may be vague. The primary aim was to examine the use of lectin complement pathway proteins as markers to differentiate ALLarthropathy from JIA. The secondary aims were to compare the protein levels at baseline and follow-up in a paired number of children with ALL and to examine the correlation with haematology counts, erythrocyte sedimentation reaction (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), blasts, relapse and death. STUDY DESIGN: In this observational study, we measured M-ficolin, CL-K1 and MASP-3 in serum from children with ALL (n=151) and JIA (n=238) by time-resolved immunofluorometric assays. Logistic regression was used for predictions of ALL risk, considering the markers as the respective exposures. We performed internal validation using repeated '10-fold cross-validation' with 100 repetitions computing the area under the curve (AUC) as well as positive and negative predictive values in order to evaluate the predictive performance. RESULTS: The level of M-ficolin was higher in JIA than ALLtotal and the ALLarthropathy subgroup. The M-ficolin level normalised after remission of ALL. M-ficolin could differentiate ALL from JIA with an AUC of 94% and positive predictive value (PPV) of 95%, exceeding CRP and haemoglobin. In a dichotomised predictive model with optimal cut-offs for M-ficolin, platelets and haemoglobin, AUC was 99% and PPV 98% in detecting ALL from JIA. CONCLUSION: M-ficolin is a valuable marker to differentiate the child with ALL from JIA.

Asparaginase enzyme activity levels and toxicity in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a NOPHO ALL2008 study.

Asparaginase treatment is a mainstay in contemporary treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), but substantial asparaginase-related toxicity may lead to jeopardized protocol compliance and compromises survival. We investigated the association between risk of asparaginase-associated toxicities (AspTox) and asparaginase enzyme activity (AEA) levels in 1155 children aged 1.0 to 17.9 years, diagnosed with ALL between July 2008 and March 2016, and treated according to the Nordic Society of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology (NOPHO) ALL2008 protocol. Patients with ≥2 blood samples for AEA measurement drawn 14 ± 2 days after asparaginase administration were included (6944 trough values). AEA was measurable (or >0 IU/L) in 955 patients, whereas 200 patients (17.3%) had asparaginase inactivation and few AspTox recorded. A time-dependent multiple Cox model of time to any first asparaginase-associated toxicity adjusted for sex and age was used. For patients with measurable AEA, we found a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.17 per 100 IU/L increase in median AEA (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.98-1.41; P = .09). For pancreatitis, thromboembolism, and osteonecrosis, the HRs were 1.40 (95% CI, 1.12-1.75; P = .002), 0.99 (95% CI, 0.70-1.40; P = .96), and 1.36 (95% CI, 1.04-1.77; P = .02) per 100 IU/L increase in median AEA, respectively. No significant decrease in the risk of leukemic relapse was found: HR 0.88 per 100 IU/L increase in AEA (95% CI, 0.66-1.16; P = .35). In conclusion, these results emphasize that overall AspTox and relapse are not associated with AEA levels, yet the risk of pancreatitis and osteonecrosis increases with increasing AEA levels.

Endothelial dysfunction and thromboembolism in children, adolescents, and young adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Endothelial dysfunction has not previously been investigated as a thrombogenic risk factor among patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), known to be at high risk of thromboembolism. We retrospectively explored the association between three circulating biomarkers of endothelial dysfunction (thrombomodulin, syndecan-1, VEGFR-1) measured in prospectively collected blood samples and risk of thromboembolism in 55 cases and 165 time-matched controls, treated according to the NOPHO ALL2008 protocol. In age-, sex-, and risk group-adjusted analysis, increasing levels of thrombomodulin and VEGFR-1 were independently associated with increased odds of developing thromboembolism (OR 1.37 per 1 ng/mL [95% CI 1.20‒1.56, P < 0.0001] and OR 1.21 per 100 pg/mL [95% CI 1.02‒1.21, P = 0.005], respectively). These associations remained significant when including only samples drawn >30 days before thromboembolic diagnosis. Thrombomodulin levels were on average 3.2 ng/mL (95% CI 2.6-8.2 ng/mL) higher in samples with measurable asparaginase activity (P < 0.0001). Among single nucleotide variants located in or neighboring coding genes for the three biomarkers, none were significantly associated with odds of thromboembolism. If results are validated in another cohort, thrombomodulin and VEGFR-1 could serve as predictive biomarkers, identifying patients in need of preemptive antithrombotic prophylaxis.

Socioeconomic position and maintenance therapy in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia: A national cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Socioeconomic differences in survival among children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have been reported in high-income countries and there is an unmet need for strategies to identify vulnerable patient subgroups. Reported differences in survival for children from families with different socioeconomic positions seem to arise when starting maintenance therapy. This could reflect reduced physician's compliance or family adherence to maintenance therapy. METHODS: This nationwide cohort study with extensive monitoring of systemic methotrexate (MTX)/6-mercaptopurine (6MP) dosing and metabolite levels, retrospectively investigated 173 Danish children treated according to The Nordic Society for Pediatric Hematology and Oncology ALL2008 protocol from 2008 to 2016. RESULTS: Significantly lower prescribed doses of MTX and 6MP were seen in the children in families with short parental education (short vs. medium vs. higher education: mMTX: 13.8, 16.2, and 18.6 mg/m2 /week; p < .01; m6MP: 47.4, 64.9, and 66.1 mg/m2 /day; p = .03) or parents unemployed/not in workforce (unemployed/not in workforce vs. mixed vs. at work: mMTX: 15.0, 19.9, and 17.2 mg/m2 /week; p < .01; m6MP: 54.8, 72.0, and 65.1 mg/m2 /day; p < .01). When assessing family adherence by analyzing MTX and 6MP metabolite levels, including per prescribed dose of MTX and 6MP, we found no significant differences by levels of parental education, affiliation to work market, or income (p > .05 for all comparisons). CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that inferior physician compliance to protocol recommendations on drug dosage rather than families' adherence to therapy may contribute to the association between socioeconomic position and cure rates in childhood ALL, although precise mechanisms remain to be explored.