Adrenocortical tumours (ACTs) are rare during childhood. A complete surgical resection provides the best chance of cure, but the role and efficacy of the adjuvant therapy are still controversial. ...Various histologic criteria of malignancy for ACTs adopted in children do not facilitate comparative studies and are not completely shared. Therefore, a sharp demarcation between benign and malignant lesions has not been recognised, making it difficult to identify who potentially needs perioperative therapy. This manuscript presents the internationally harmonised recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of ACTs in children and adolescents, established by the European Cooperative Study Group for Paediatric Rare Tumours (EXPeRT) group within the EU‐funded project PARTNER (Paediatric Rare Tumours Network ‐ European Registry).
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Summary Background Children and young adults treated with total body or abdominal radiotherapy have an increased risk of insulin resistance and diabetes mellitus. However, little is known of the ...effect of pancreas irradiation on the risk of diabetes. We assessed the relation between radiation exposure and occurrence of diabetes in a large cohort of long-term childhood cancer survivors. Methods We sent a questionnaire to 3468 survivors of a childhood cancer treated in eight centres in France and the UK between 1946 and 1985, of which 2520 were returned. Each self-declaration of diabetes was confirmed by contacting the patients' medical doctors. We estimated the radiation dose received by the tail, head, and body of the pancreas and 185 other anatomical sites during each course of radiotherapy from 1990 to 1995 for each child after reconstruction of the conditions in which irradiation was delivered. We investigated the relation between radiation dose to the pancreas and the risk of a subsequent diabetes diagnosis. Findings 65 cases of diabetes were validated. The risk of diabetes increased strongly with radiation dose to the tail of the pancreas, where the islets of Langerhans are concentrated, up to 20–29 Gy and then reached a plateau for higher radiation doses. The estimated relative risk at 1 Gy was 1·61 (95% CI 1·21–2·68). The radiation dose to the other parts of the pancreas did not have a significant effect. Compared with patients who did not receive radiotherapy, the relative risk of diabetes was 11·5 (95% CI 3·9–34·0) in patients who received 10 Gy or more to the tail of the pancreas. Results were unchanged after adjustment for body-mass index, despite its strong independent effect (p<0·0001), and were similar between men and women. Children younger than 2 years at time of radiotherapy were more sensitive to radiation than were older patients (relative risk at 1 Gy 2·1 95% CI 1·4–4·3 vs 1·4 95% CI 1·1–2·2 in older patients; p=0·02 for the difference). For the 511 patients who had received more than 10 Gy to the tail of the pancreas, the cumulative incidence of diabetes was 16% (95% CI 11–24). Interpretation Our study provides evidence of a dose-response relation between radiation exposure of pancreas and subsequent risk of diabetes. Because of the risks observed and the frequency of diabetes in general population, this finding raises important public health issues. The pancreas needs to be regarded as a critical organ when planning radiation therapy, particularly in children. Follow-up of patients who received abdominal irradiation should include diabetes screening. Funding Ligue Nationale Contre le Cancer, Institut de Recherche en Santé Publique, Programme Hospitalier de Recherche Clinique, Institut National du Cancer, Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire et des Produits de Santé, Fondation Pfizer pour la santé de l'enfant et de l'adolescent.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Introduction
Pediatric adrenal cortical tumors are characterized by a wide spectrum of behavior. Questions remain regarding intermediate disease stages with isolated tumor rupture or relapse.
...Objectives
To describe clinical characteristics, treatment strategy, and outcome of patients depending on disease stage, tumor rupture, or in case of a refractory tumor, to discuss optimal management.
Material and methods
Pediatric patients with histological material reviewed and treated between 2000 and 2018 in 23 French oncology centers were included.
Results
Among 95 cases, 59% of patients had stage I tumors (n = 55), 16% had stage II tumors (n = 16), 19% had stage III tumors (n = 17), and 5% had stage IV tumors (n = 5) (missing data: 2). Overall, 27% of patients (n = 25) had an unfavorable histology. Initial tumor resection was performed for 90% of patients (n = 86). Systemic therapies included mitotane in 20 cases and chemotherapy in 13 cases. Among 17 stage III patients, 12 had microscopic residual tumor due to an initial biopsy (n = 5), intraoperative rupture (n = 8), or surgical resection with microscopic residue or tumor spillage surgery (n = 1) (two patients with two modalities). After a median follow‐up of 96 months (25‐119), four early progressions and two relapses occurred. A total of seven patients died, including five of disease. Stage III diseases due to microscopic residual disease correlated with a worse prognosis: 5‐year progression‐free survival 44% (95% CI, 22‐87%) versus 82% (95% CI, 73‐91%) for the whole cohort (P < .0001). Among the 14 patients with refractory disease, only 3 were alive and free of disease after multimodal second‐line therapy.
Conclusions
Stage III diseases due to a microscopic residual tumor have a dismal prognosis, arguing for the systematic use of adjuvant therapy. Patients with a relapsed disease should be included in experimental studies.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Objective
The aim of this study was to identify risk factors for obesity in childhood cancer survivors (CCSs).
Methods
The study included 3199 patients of the French Childhood Cancer Survivor Study ...cohort, with 303 patients with obesity who had returned the self‐questionnaire. Analyses were adjusted for social deprivation index and sex.
Results
CCSs were less likely to have obesity (9.5%; 95% CI: 8.5%–10.5%) than expected from the general French population rates (12.5%; p = 0.0001). Nevertheless, brain tumor survivors were significantly more likely to develop obesity than the general French population (p = 0.0001). Compared with patients who did not receive radiotherapy to the pituitary gland, those who received a dose >5 Gy had an increased risk of obesity: relative risk 1.9 (95% CI: 1.2–3.1), 2.5 (95% CI: 1.7–3.7), and 2.6 (95% CI: 1.6–4.3), respectively, for participants with 6 to 20 Gy, 20 to 40 Gy, and ≥40 Gy of radiation. Etoposide administration significantly increased the risk of obesity (relative risk 1.7; 95% CI: 1.1–2.6). High social deprivation index was also a risk factor, just like BMI at diagnosis.
Conclusions
Long‐term follow‐up of CCSs should include weight follow‐up during adulthood.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Context: Growth hormone (GH) deficiency is a common late effect of cranial irradiation. However, concerns have been raised that GH treatment might lead to an increased risk of a second neoplasm (SN). ...Objective: To study the impact of GH treatment on the risk of SN in a French cohort of survivors of childhood cancer (CCS) treated before 1986. Design and setting: Cohort study and nested case–control study. Participants: Of the 2852 survivors, with a median follow-up of 26 years, 196 had received GH therapy (median delay from cancer diagnosis: 5.5 years). Main outcome measures: Occurrence of SN Results: In total, 374 survivors developed a SN, including 40 who had received GH therapy. In a multivariate analysis, GH treatment did not increase the risk of secondary non-meningioma brain tumors (RR: 0.6, 95% CI: 0.2–1.5, P = 0.3), secondary non-brain cancer (RR: 0.7, 95% CI: 0.4–1.2, P = 0.2), or meningioma (RR: 1.9, 95% CI: 0.9–4, P = 0.09). Nevertheless, we observed a slight non-significant increase in the risk of meningioma with GH duration: 1.6-fold (95% CI: 1.2–3.0) after an exposure of less than 4 years vs 2.3-fold (95% CI: 0.9–5.6) after a longer exposure (P for trend = 0.07) confirmed by the results of a case–control study. Conclusion: This study confirms the overall safety of GH use in survivors of childhood cancer, which does not increase the risk of a SN. The slight excess in the risk of meningioma in patients with long-term GH treatment is non-significant and could be due to difficulties in adjustment on cranial radiation volume/dose and/or undiagnosed meningioma predisposing conditions.
Background
Paediatric cancer survivors have a high risk of developing cardiac diseases, and the most frequent cardiac disease is heart failure (HF). The radiation dose–volume effects in the heart and ...cardiac substructures have not been explored in childhood cancer survivors (CCS). Therefore, the role of irradiated heart volume in the occurrence of HF among this population remains unclear. The aims of this study were to determine the doses and irradiated volumes of the heart and left ventricle (LV) related to the risk of HF in CCS and to investigate the impact of anthracycline exposure on this risk.
Methods and results
A case‐control study nested in the French Childhood Cancer Survivors Study cohort. The mean heart and left ventricular doses and volumes indicators were estimated by reconstruction of individual treatments. A total of 239 HF cases and 1042 matched controls were included. The median age of HF diagnosis was 25.1 years. The median volume of the heart that received ≥ 30 Gy was 61.1% for cases and 16.9% for controls. In patients who did not receive anthracycline, the risk of HF was increased 3.6‐fold when less than 10% of the LV received ≥ 30 Gy when compared to patients who were not exposed to any cardiac radiation and anthracycline.
Conclusions
Small irradiated volumes of the heart or LV were significantly associated with HF risk. To the author's knowledge, this is the first study to report a dose–response relationship based on dose–volume indicators in CCS, which can be translated efficiently into current clinical practice.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
The prognosis of malignant pediatric adrenocortical tumors is closely related to disease stage, which is used to guide perioperative treatment recommendations. However, current scoring systems are ...inadequate to distinguish between benign and malignant adrenocortical tumors. Robust microscopic prognostic features that could help determine perioperative therapy are also lacking. The aim of this national study was to review the prognostic value of the Wieneke scoring criteria and Ki67 labeling index in unselected pediatric adrenocortical tumors. Using strict definitions previously defined by expert pathologists, a Wieneke score was re-attributed to each tumor after an independent and centralized review. In addition, Ki67 proliferation index was performed and reviewed for each case. A total of 95 cases were selected; all were treated between 2000 and 2018 and had histopathologic material and sufficient outcome-related information available. Localized disease was found in 88% of patients. Among those with advanced disease, 6% had tumor extension into adjacent organs and 5% had metastases at diagnosis. Median follow-up was 5 years and 3 months. The 5-year PFS was 82%, 95% CI 73%-91%. Tumor stage significantly correlated with PFS (p < 0.0001). Tumor weight up to 200 g, extra-adrenal extension and initial non-complete surgical resection were statistically associated with worse outcomes. No recurrences nor metastases occurred when the Ki67 index was < 15%. Up to two of the following five factors including tumor necrosis, adrenal capsular invasion, venous invasion, mitotic count > 15/20 high-power fields, and Ki67 index > 15%, significantly correlated with worse outcomes. We propose a pathological scoring system incorporating the Ki67 index as part of a two-step approach after disease staging to guide adjuvant treatment in pediatric adrenocortical tumors, especially after incomplete resection. These results should be validated in an independent cohort.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
The aim of this study was to investigate the role of radiation dose received to the circle of Willis (WC) during radiation therapy (RT) and of potential dose-response modifiers on the risk of stroke ...after treatment of childhood cancer.
We evaluated the risk factors for stroke in a cohort of 3172 5-year survivors of childhood cancer who were followed up for a median time of 26 years. Radiation doses to the WC and brain structures were estimated for each of the 2202 children who received RT.
Fifty-four patients experienced a confirmed stroke; 39 were ischemic. Patients not receiving RT had a stroke risk similar to that of the general population, whereas those who received RT had an 8.5-fold increased risk (95% confidence interval CI: 6.3-11.0). The excess of incidence of stroke increased yearly. The dose of radiation to the WC, rather than to other brain structures, was found to be the best predictor of stroke. The relative risk was 15.7 (95% CI: 4.9-50.2) for doses of 40 Gy or more. At 45 years of age, the cumulative stroke incidence was 11.3% (95% CI: 7.1%-17.7%) in patients who received 10 Gy or more to the WC, compared with 1% expected from general population data. Radiation doses received to the heart and neck also increased the risk. Surgery for childhood brain cancer was linked to hemorrhagic strokes in these patients.
The WC should be considered as a major organ at risk during RT for childhood brain cancers. The incidence of radiation-induced ischemic stroke strongly increases with long-term follow-up.
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GEOZS, IJS, NUK, OILJ, UL, UM, UPUK
Childhood cancer survivors (CCS) may require lifelong medical care due to late effects of cancer treatments. Little is known about of their healthcare utilization and expenditures at long-term ...especially in publicly funded health care system. We aim to estimate and describe the health care expenditures among long-term CCS in France.
A total of 5319 five-year solid CCS diagnosed before the age of 21 between 1945 and 2000 in France were identified in the French Childhood Cancer Survivors Study cohort (FCCSS) and the French cancer registry. Information about health care expenditure was taken from the French national health data system between 2011 and 2016, and was described according to survivors' characteristics. Generalized linear models were used to determine associations between health care expenditures and survivors' characteristics.
Mean annual amount of healthcare expenditures was € 4,255. Expenditures on hospitalizations and pharmacy represents 60% of total expenditures. Mean annual of healthcare expenditures were higher at increasing age, among women survivors (€ 4,795 vs € 3,814 in men) and in central nervous system (CNS) tumor survivors (€ 7,116 vs € 3,366 in lymphoma and € 3,363 in other solid tumor survivors).
Childhood cancer survivorship is associated with a substantial economic burden in France. We found that female gender and CNS primary cancer were associated with increased healthcare expenditures.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
About 8% of children born small for gestational age (SGA) do not reach a final height within the normal range. Recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) has been shown to be effective in increasing the ...final height in children born SGA. Our objective was to identify predictive factors of final height in children born SGA treated with rhGH.
In this retrospective study, conducted in a tertiary pediatric endocrinology referral center, we recruited all patients born SGA (defined as birth length or weight <10th percentile) treated with rhGH for more than 12 months for whom final height data were available. Some patients had received gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analog therapy.
We included 252 patients with an average birth length of -2.0 ± 0.7 SD and birth weight of -1.7 ± 1.0 SD. After 4.6 ± 2.8 years of rhGH treatment, their height increased from -2.2 ± 0.9 SD to -1.5 ± 0.9 SD. In multivariate analysis, we identified 8 factors that predict 46% of the final height, namely, cause of SGA (p < 0.0001), GnRH analog therapy >2 years (p = 0.006), birth length (p < 0.02), height at the start of rhGH (p < 0.0001), IGF-1 level at the start of rhGH (p = 0.0002), growth velocity during the 1st year of treatment (p = 0.0002), and age and height at the onset of puberty (p < 0.0001, p = 0.0007, respectively).
In this large cohort of SGA patients who had reached their final height, we were able to confirm that growth hormone increases final height in short SGA children. In addition, we identified several factors associated with a better response to growth hormone treatment.