ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Pediatric Burkitt lymphoma (pBL) is the most common non-Hodgkin lymphoma in children. These patients require prompt diagnosis and initiation of therapy due to rapid tumor growth. The roles of tumor tissue and circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) in the diagnosis or prognostication have not been fully elucidated in pBLs. METHODS: Differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs were identified with microRNA sequencing (miRNA-Seq) in tumor tissues and plasma of diagnostic pBLs. The diagnostic potential of total miRNA concentrations and overexpressed miRNAs were evaluated through receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses. Log-rank test was employed to evaluate survival differences associated with DE miRNAs. Selected miRNA expressions were cross-validated with quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR). RESULTS: Total circulating cell-free miRNAs were higher in pBL cases compared to controls. Cancer-associated pathways were enriched among miRNAs differentially expressed in pBL tumor tissues. Several upregulated miRNAs in pBL tumors demonstrated high diagnostic potential. Similarly, ROC analysis of overexpressed plasma miRNAs revealed circulating cell-free or exosomal miRNAs that can distinguish pBLs from control cases. Indeed, integrative analysis of overexpressed circulating exosomal miRNAs showed an enhanced diagnostic potential for certain triple combinations. Kaplan-Meier analyses of DE miRNAs in tumor tissues identified miRNAs predicting overall survival. CONCLUSIONS: Differentially expressed miRNAs in tumor tissue and plasma of pBL have the potential to improve diagnosis and prognosis. IMPACT: Differentially expressed miRNAs in treatment-naive pediatric Burkitt lymphoma cases have diagnostic or prognostic biomarker potential. This is the first study that applied miRNA-Seq on treatment-naive pediatric Burkitt lymphoma cases for identification of differentially expressed miRNAs both in tumor tissue and plasma samples with diagnostic potential. Through systematic analysis of differentially expressed miRNAs, tumor tissue miRNAs associated with the overall survival of pBLs have been discovered. The clinically significant, differentially expressed miRNAs identified in pediatric Burkitt lymphoma cases can potentially improve the current tissue-based or non-invasive clinical practice in terms of diagnosis or prognostication.
ABSTRACT
AIM: The aim of this study is to determine the mutation spectrums and clinical characteristics of NF1 patients followed up in our center and to investigate whether there is a genotype-phenotype relationship. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sixty-three children and 34 relatives diagnosed with NF1 were included in the study. Age, gender, family history, clinical features, tumors detected in the patient at the time of diagnosis or during follow-up, orbital and cerebral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings were recorded. Also results of the NF1 gene analysis results were recorded. RESULTS: Fifty-three different mutations were found as a result of the NF1 gene analysis studied from patients and their family members. Among these 53 mutations, stop codon mutation was the most frequently detected mutations. Sixteen out of 50 (32%) mutations were found to be novel mutations. Twenty-eight tumors developed in our patients. Twenty of them were optic gliomas and others were medullary thyroid carcinoma, glioblastome multiforme, pons glioma, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, pilocytic astrositoma, hypothalamic glioma, cerebral hamartoma and cardiac fibroma. No genotype-phenotype relationship was detected in patients Conclusion: Comprehensive mutation analysis of NF1 will increase our knowledge due to its different phenotypic characteristics even in the same mutation.
ABSTRACT
Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD) is a proliferative disorder of non-Langerhans histiocytes with a higher incidence in the fifth to seventh decades and rarer occurrence in the pediatric population. Although ECD typically involves bone, it can also affect the central nervous system, cardiovascular system, retro-orbital space, retroperitoneal space, and kidneys, lungs, and skin. A 13-year-old Syrian girl who presented with multisystemic involvement was diagnosed with ECD. The B-Raf proto-oncogene V600E mutation was not detected in ECD lesions. Response to the high-dose interferon-α therapy was excellent in this pediatric patient. In this article, pediatric ECD case reports are also reviewed.