Factors related to employment in childhood cancer survivors in Japan: A preliminary study.

Purpose: Previous research has revealed vocational and academic difficulties in childhood cancer survivors, and explored impact of survivors' medical history and physical function on vocational and academic status. However, we often encounter survivors with similar diagnoses and late effects but different academic or employment statuses. This raises the question of what affects academic attainment and employment other than treatment or late effects. This study aimed to explore factors associated with childhood cancer survivors' employment status and academic achievement. Methods: Comprehensive health check-up and questionnaire survey were conducted for 69 survivors who were over the age of 18 and participated in St. Luke's Lifetime cohort study. We obtained survivors' biological function using comprehensive health check-up, neurocognitive states, quality of life, transition readiness, and family function. We conducted univariate analysis (Mann-Whitney U tests or chi-square tests) to compare the differences between the regular workers/students and non-regular workers/unemployed groups. The variables with p-values <0.1 were used as independent variables multivariate logistic regression to explore predictors of employment status and academic attainment. Results: Result of the univariate analysis, intelligence quotient, SF-8 PCS, transition readiness, family function were used for multivariate logistic regression as independent variables. The stepwise likelihood method was conducted; intelligence quotient (odds ratio [OR] = 1.100; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.015-1.193; p = 0.021), transition readiness (OR = 0.612; 95% CI 0.396-0.974; p = 0.038), and family function (OR = 2.337; 95% CI 1.175-4.645; p = 0.015) were found to be associated with survivors' regular workers/students in the final regression model. Conclusion: Long-term follow-up of pediatric cancer survivors requires the provision of total care, which supports physical, psychological, and social functions to improve health, readiness for transition to self-management, and family functioning.

Significance of active screening for detection of health problems in childhood cancer survivors.

Background: Childhood cancer survivors (CCSs) have a lifelong increased risk of chronic health problems, most of which are associated with the curative therapies. Recent studies have suggested that prospective active screening using comprehensive assessments for CCSs is superior in identifying undiagnosed chronic health problems. Methods: To assess the significance of active screening using comprehensive medical examinations for detecting chronic health problems in multiple organ systems in CCSs, we retrospectively compared the frequency and severity of health problems between two different cohorts of CCSs in a single institution: 110 CCSs who visited the outpatient clinic for regular follow-ups between December 2010 and December 2015 (regular follow-up group) vs. 58 CCSs who underwent comprehensive medical examinations between February 2016 and September 2019 (active screening group). CCSs were defined as patients aged ≥ 18 years who had been diagnosed as having childhood cancer ≥ 10 years before and had survived without cancer for ≥ 5 years. Results: Patient characteristics were similar between the two groups except for primary diagnosis (more brain tumors and embryonal tumors in the active screening group) and treatment history (more alkylating agents used and surgical interventions performed in the active screening group). The prevalence and the median number of health problems were significantly higher in the active screening group than in the regular follow-up group: 93% vs. 67% and 1.0 [0.0-8.0] vs. 2.0 [0.0-7.0] respectively. In term of organ-specific health problems, pulmonary dysfunction, neurocognitive impairment, ocular abnormalities, and dental abnormalities were identified more in the active screening group, partly because these problems had not been assessed in the regular follow-up group. Nevertheless, the prevalence of grade 3-5 health problems was similar between the two groups, except for pulmonary dysfunction. Conclusion: Active screening using comprehensive medical examinations was effective for identifying health problems in CCSs. Although the prevalence of severe problems identified by both approaches was similar, comprehensive medical examinations could detect overlooked problems such as severe pulmonary dysfunction, dental maldevelopment, and borderline intellectual functioning, which might have an impact on quality of life in CCSs.

Infantile Stage M Neuroblastoma With 11q Deletion, Mimicking Stage MS.

A 4-month-old boy with abdominal distension was diagnosed with adrenal neuroblastoma with numerous metastases to the liver and nodules in the skin and muscles. Marked hepatomegaly spontaneously regressed with decreasing tumor marker levels, and the final diagnosis was stage M based on radiologic findings confirming metastasis to the pancreas. The neuroblastoma did not have the MYCN amplification but had an 11q aberration. Chemotherapy was initiated at age 6 months with a successful response. Our case reflects the heterogenous clinical behavior of neuroblastoma and highlights the challenging issue of the difference between stage M and stage MS neuroblastoma in infants.

Clinical Courses of IKAROS and CTLA4 Deficiencies: A Systematic Literature Review and Retrospective Longitudinal Study.

IKAROS and CTLA4 deficiencies are inborn errors of immunity and show similar clinical phenotypes, including hypogammaglobulinemia and autoimmune diseases (ADs). However, the differences in clinical features and pathogenesis of these are not fully understood. Therefore, we performed systematic literature reviews for IKAROS and CTLA4 deficiencies. The reviews suggested that patients with IKAROS deficiency develop AD earlier than hypogammaglobulinemia. However, no study assessed the detailed changes in clinical manifestations over time; this was likely due to the cross-sectional nature of the studies. Therefore, we conducted a retrospective longitudinal study on IKAROS and CTLA4 deficiencies in our cohort to evaluate the clinical course over time. In patients with IKAROS deficiency, AD and hypogammaglobulinemia often develop in that order, and AD often resolves before the onset of hypogammaglobulinemia; these observations were not found in patients with CTLA4 deficiency. Understanding this difference in the clinical course helps in the clinical management of both. Furthermore, our results suggest B- and T-cell-mediated ADs in patients with IKAROS and CTLA4 deficiencies, respectively.