With the use of microarray gene-expression profiling, we analyzed a homogeneous series of 32 patients with systemic anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL) and 5 ALCL cell lines. Unsupervised analysis ...classified ALCL in 2 clusters, corresponding essentially to morphologic subgroups (ie, common type vs small cell and “mixed” variants) and clinical variables. Patients with a morphologic variant of ALCL had advanced-stage disease. This group included a significant number of patients who experienced early relapse. Supervised analysis showed that ALK+ALCL and ALK− ALCL have different gene-expression profiles, further confirming that they are different entities. Among the most significantly differentially expressed genes between ALK+ and ALK− samples, we found BCL6, PTPN12, CEBPB, and SERPINA1 genes to be overexpressed in ALK+ ALCL. This result was confirmed at the protein level for BCL-6, C/EBPβ and serpinA1 through tissue microarrays. The molecular signature of ALK− ALCL included overexpression of CCR7, CNTFR, IL22, and IL21 genes but did not provide any obvious clues to the molecular mechanism underlying this tumor subtype. Once confirmed on a larger number of patients, the results of the present study could be used for clinical and therapeutic management of patients at the time of diagnosis.
The prognostic value of pathologic characteristics of childhood ALK-positive anaplastic large-cell lymphomas (ALCL), such as histologic subtypes, immunophenotype, and presence of the t(2;5) ...translocation or its variants, was assessed.
All 375 patients with systemic ALK-positive ALCL included in an international trial launched by the European Intergroup for Childhood Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma were reviewed by an international panel of pathologists based on conventional hematoxylin and eosin-stained and immunostained sections and classified according to the 2001 WHO classification.
A small-cell (SC) or lymphohistiocytic (LH) component was observed in 114 (32%) of 361 patients, whereas ALCL of common type was diagnosed in 235 (65%) of 361 patients. Regarding the histologic subtyping of patients within the two categories of ALCL (with v without SC/LH component), the concordance between the national and international reviews was quite good, with a κ index equal to 0.67 (95% CI, 0.57 to 0.75). The presence of an SC/LH component was significantly associated with a high risk of failure (hazard ratio HR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.3 to 3.0; P = .002) in the multivariate analysis controlling for clinical characteristics, as well as the perivascular pattern (HR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.1 to 2.7; P = .01), whereas CD3 positivity was significantly associated with a high risk of failure only in univariate analysis.
Our study, which to our knowledge includes the largest series of childhood systemic ALK-positive ALCL so far, demonstrates the adverse prognostic value of SC and/or LH morphologic features. Combining these histologic characteristics with other biologic or clinical factors might have a high potential for future risk stratification and treatment.
To compare the efficacy and safety of two methotrexate doses and administration schedules in children with anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL).
This randomized trial for children with ALCL was ...based on the Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma-Berlin-Frankfurt-Muenster 90 (NHL-BFM90) study protocol and compared six courses of methotrexate 1 g/m2 over 24 hours and an intrathecal injection (IT) followed by folinic acid rescue at 42 hours (MTX1 arm) with six courses of methotrexate 3 g/m2 over 3 hours followed by folinic acid rescue at 24 hours without IT (MTX3 arm). This trial involved most European pediatric/lymphoma study groups and a Japanese group.
Overall, 352 patients (96% ALK positive) were recruited between 1999 and 2005; 175 were randomly assigned to the MTX1 arm, and 177 were assigned to the MTX3 arm. Ninety-two percent of patients received protocol treatment. Median follow-up time is 3.7 years. Event-free survival (EFS) curves were superimposed with 2-year EFS rates (73.6% and 74.5% in the MTX1 and MTX3 arms, respectively; hazard ratio = 0.98; 91.76% CI, 0.69 to 1.38). Two-year overall survival rates were 90.1% and 94.9% in MTX1 and MTX3, respectively. Only two CNS relapses occurred (both in the MTX1 arm). Toxicity was assessed after 2,050 courses and included grade 4 hematologic toxicity after 79% and 64% of MTX1 and MTX3 courses, respectively (P < .0001); infection after 50% and 32% of courses, respectively (P < .0001); and grade 3 to 4 stomatitis after 21% and 6% of courses, respectively (P < .0001).
The results of the NHL-BFM90 study were reproduced in this large international trial. The methotrexate schedule of the NHL-BFM90 protocol including IT therapy can be safely replaced by a less toxic schedule of methotrexate 3 g/m2 in a 3-hour infusion without IT therapy.
Data on the spectrum of second malignant neoplasms (SMNs) after primary childhood non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) are scarce. One-hundred-and-eighty-nine NHL patients diagnosed in a 30 years period of ...1980-2010 developing an SMN were retrieved from 19 members of the European Intergroup for Childhood NHL and/or the international Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster Study Group. Five subgroups of SMNs were identified: (1) myeloid neoplasms (n = 43; 23%), (2) lymphoid neoplasms (n = 51; 27%), (3) carcinomas (n = 48; 25%), (4) central nervous system (CNS) tumors (n = 19; 10%), and (5) "other" SMNs (n = 28; 15%). In 37 patients (20%) preexisting disorders were reported with 90% having any kind of cancer predisposition syndrome (CPS). For the 189 primary NHL patients, 5-year overall survival (OS) after diagnosis of an SMN was 56 ± 4%, being worst for patients with preexisting disorders at 28 ± 8%. Five-year OS rates were 38 ± 8%, 59 ± 7%, 79 ± 8%, 34 ± 12%, and 62 ± 11%, respectively, for patients with myeloid and lymphoid neoplasms, carcinomas, CNS tumors, and "other" SMNs (p < 0.0001). Patients with SMNs after childhood NHL having a reported CPS, mostly mismatch repair disorders, carried a very poor prognosis. Moreover, although outcome was favorable in some subtypes of SMNs after childhood NHL (carcinomas, lymphoid neoplasms), other SMNs such as myeloid neoplasms and CNS tumors had a dismal prognosis.
Abstract
Pediatric liver tumors are very rare tumors with the most common diagnosis being hepatoblastoma. While hepatoblastomas are predominantly sporadic, around 15% of cases develop as part of ...predisposition syndromes such as Beckwith-Wiedemann (11p15.5 locus altered). Here, we identify mosaic genetic alterations of 11p15.5 locus in the liver of hepatoblastoma patients without a clinical diagnosis of Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome. We do not retrieve these alterations in children with other types of pediatric liver tumors. We show that mosaic 11p15.5 alterations in liver FFPE sections of hepatoblastoma patients display
IGF2
overexpression and
H19
downregulation together with an alteration of the liver zonation. Moreover, mosaic livers’ microenvironment is enriched in extracellular matrix and angiogenesis. Spatial transcriptomics and single-nucleus RNAseq analyses identify a 60-gene signature in 11p15.5 altered hepatocytes. These data provide insights for 11p15.5 mosaicism detection and its functional consequences during the early steps of carcinogenesis.
The impact of adding vinblastine to a 4-month chemotherapy regimen, based on the Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster 90 protocol, in childhood high-risk anaplastic large-cell lymphoma ...(ALCL) was assessed.
Children and adolescents with high-risk ALCL, defined by mediastinal, lung, liver, spleen, or skin involvement, were eligible for the trial. After a prephase and one chemotherapy course, patients were randomly assigned to receive either five further chemotherapy courses without vinblastine or the same regimen with one vinblastine injection (6 mg/m(2)) during each course followed by weekly vinblastine to complete a total of 1 year of treatment. The primary end point was event-free survival (EFS), analyzed on the intent-to-treat population.
Between November 1999 and June 2006, 110 patients were randomly assigned to receive vinblastine, and 107 were randomly assigned not to receive vinblastine. Median follow-up was 4.8 years. Patients in the vinblastine arm had a significantly reduced risk of events during the first year (hazard ratio HR = 0.31; 95% CI, 0.15 to 0.67; P = .002) followed by an increased risk thereafter (HR = 4.98; 95% CI, 1.65 to 15.0; P = .003). Consequently, EFS at 1 year differed significantly (91% in the vinblastine group v 74% in the no-vinblastine group), with no difference at 2 years (73% and 70%, respectively). Overall EFS curves did not differ significantly (HR = 0.91; 95% CI, 0.55 to 1.5; P = .71). Thirty-one percent of weekly doses of vinblastine were reduced as a result of hematologic toxicity, although vinblastine was discontinued for toxicity in only three patients.
Adding vinblastine during induction and as maintenance for a total treatment duration of 1 year significantly delayed the occurrence of relapses but did not reduce the risk of failure.
To evaluate the efficacy of vinblastine for relapsed/refractory anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL).
Data were reviewed on all 36 patients included prospectively in the French database for ...pediatric ALCL who were treated with vinblastine (6 mg/m(2)/wk) for resistant primary disease (one), a first relapse (15), or subsequent relapses (20). Fifteen patients had undergone hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) for a previous relapse.
Six patients were not evaluable for response, 25 (83%) of 30 evaluable patients achieved a complete remission (CR), and five experienced progressive disease. Among the 31 patients who achieved a CR with vinblastine or before its initiation, six patients were treated with HSCT and 25 with vinblastine alone (median duration, 14 months). Overall, nine of 25 patients treated with vinblastine alone have remained in CR (median, 7 years since the end of treatment), and 16 patients have relapsed. Vinblastine was still efficient for subsequent relapses. With a median follow-up of 9.2 years, 12 patients have died (four as a result of toxicity after HSCT and eight as a result of disease), and 24 patients are alive (15 following treatment with single-agent vinblastine for the last event). Five-year overall survival is 65% (95% CI, 48% to 79%), and 5-year event-free survival is 30% (95% CI, 17% to 47%).
Vinblastine is highly efficient in relapsed ALCL and may produce durable remissions. The optimal treatment duration still has to be assessed. These results should be borne in mind when designing future phase II studies with the targeted therapies directed against anaplastic lymphoma kinase.
Summary Background Based on preclinical data for the antitumour effect of zoledronate in osteosarcoma, we assessed whether zoledronate combined with chemotherapy and surgery improved event-free ...survival in children and adults with osteosarcoma. Methods In this randomised, multicentre, open-label, phase 3 trial (OS2006), patients aged between 5 years and 50 years with newly diagnosed high-grade osteosarcoma were randomly assigned to receive standard chemotherapy with or without ten zoledronate intravenous infusions (four preoperative and six postoperative). Adults older than 25 years received 4 mg zoledronate per infusion, patients aged 18–25 years received 0·05 mg/kg for the first two infusions and 4 mg for the remaining eight infusions, and younger patients received 0·05 mg/kg per infusion. Chemotherapy comprised high-dose methotrexate based chemotherapy in patients younger than 18 years, and doxorubicin, ifosfamide, and cisplatin in adults older than 25 years; patients aged 18–25 years were treated with either regime at the discretion of the treating centre. Balanced randomisation between the two groups was done centrally with online randomisation software, based on a minimisation algorithm taking into account centre, age, combined with chemotherapy regimen, and risk group (resectable primary and no metastasis vs other). Patients and investigators were not masked to treatment assignment, but the endpoint adjudication committee members who reviewed suspected early progressions were masked to group allocation. The primary endpoint was event-free survival, estimated from the randomisation to the time of first failure (local or distant relapse, progression, death) or to the last follow-up visit for the patients in first complete remission, analysed on a modified intention-to-treat population, which excluded patients found not to have a malignant tumour after central review. Three interim analyses were planned. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov , number NCT00470223. Findings Between April 23, 2007, and March 11, 2014, 318 patients, median age 15·5 years (range 5·8–50·9), were enrolled from 40 French centres; of whom 158 were assigned to the control group (chemotherapy alone) and 160 to the zoledronate group, including 55 (17%) patients with definite metastases. The trial was stopped for futility after the second interim analysis. With a median follow-up of 3·9 years (IQR 2·7–5·1), 125 events occurred (55 in the control group and 70 in the with zoledronate group). Event-free survival at 3 years for all 315 randomly assigned patients was 60·3% (95% CI 64·5–65·9); 3-year event-free survival was 63·4% (55·2–70·9) for the control group and 57·1% (48·8–65·0) for the zoledronate group. The risk of failure was not reduced and was even marginally higher in the zoledronate group than in the control group (hazard ratio HR 1·36 95% CI 0·95–1·96; p=0·094). No major increase in severe toxic effects of grade 3 or higher associated with zoledronate, barring expected hypocalcaemia (45 29% of 153 participants in the zoledronate group vs ten 6% of 155 participants in the control group; p<0·0001) and hypophosphataemia (61 40% of 151 in the zoledronate group vs 26 17% of 156 in the control group; p<0·0001). No significant difference in orthopaedic complications was noted between the two groups (27 in the control group and 29 in the zoledronate group). Two treatment-related deaths were reported (one from cardiomyopathy in the control group and one from multiorgan failure in the zoledronate group before the first zoledronate infusion). Interpretation From the results observed in this study, we do not recommend zoledronate in osteosarcoma patients. Further biological studies are required to understand the discordance between the results of OS2006 trial and preclinical data. Funding French National Cancer Institute (INCa), Novartis, Chugai, Ligue Nationale contre le Cancer, Fédération Enfants et Santé, Société Française des Cancers et Leucémies de l'Enfant.
Anaplastic large cell lymphomas are peripheral T-cell lymphomas that are characterized by a proliferation of large anaplastic blasts expressing CD30. In children, systemic anaplastic large cell ...lymphomas often present at advanced clinical stage and harbor translocations involving the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene leading to the expression of chimeric anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-fusion proteins. Primary cutaneous anaplastic large cell lymphoma is regarded as an ALK-negative variant confined to the skin and is part of the spectrum of primary cutaneous CD30-positive T-cell lymphoproliferative disorders. Thirty-three of 487 pediatric patients registered within the Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma-99 trial (1999 to 2006) presented with a skin limited CD30-positive lympho-proliferative disorder. In 23 of the 33 patients, material for international histopathological review was available, and the cases were studied for histopathological, immunophenotypical and clinical features as well as for breaks within the ALK gene. Five of 23 cases and one additional case (identified after closure of the trial) expressed ALK-protein. Complete staging excluded any other organ involvement in all children. Expression of ALK proteins was demonstrated by immunohistochemistry in all cases and the presence of breaks of the ALK gene was genetically confirmed in 5 evaluable cases. The histopathological and clinical picture of these skin-restricted ALK-positive lymphomas was indistinguishable from that of cutaneous anaplastic large cell lymphoma. Five children presented with a single skin lesion that was completely resected in 4 and incompletely resected in one. Three of these patients received no further therapy, 2 additional local radiotherapy, and one chemotherapy. All children remain in complete remission with a median follow up of seven years (range 1-8 years). We present 6 pediatric cases of ALK-positive primary cutaneous anaplastic large cell lymphomas. After thorough exclusion of systemic involvement, therapy confined to local measures seems to be sufficient to induce cure.
To evaluate the impact of a microscopically positive resection margin (microPRM) on the outcome of hepatoblastoma patients pretreated with chemotherapy.
Local recurrence and survival rates of 431 ...children treated in the SIOPEL 2 and 3 trials were analysed comparing 58 patients with microPRM with 371 who had a complete resection (CR) and who were then stratified by risk category. The tumour was standard-risk in 312 patients and high-risk (PRETEXT IV and/or extrahepatic disease and/or α-fetoprotein AFP<100 ng/ml) in 117 patients. All received cisplatinum-based neoadjuvant and postoperative chemotherapy as per protocol. Apart from one microPRM patient who went on to transplant, none received any additional local treatment.
With a median follow-up of 67 months, local relapse occurred in 3/58 patients with microPRM (5%) and in 23/371 (6%) patients with CR. The 5-year overall survival (OS) was 91% (95% confidence interval CI 80%–96%) for the microPRM and 92% (95% CI 89%–95%) for the CR group. The 5-year event-free survival (EFS) was 86% (95% CI 74%–93%) for the microPRM and 86% (95% CI 82%–89%) for the CR group. Neither OS nor EFS was statistically significantly different between the two groups, neither overall nor when risk group stratified.
In the context of cisplatin-based chemotherapy, the presence of microPRM did not influence the outcome even without additional local treatment. Although CR remains the aim, microPRM does not necessitate mandatory second look surgery. A ‘wait and see policy’ is warranted if postoperative chemotherapy is administered and AFP levels and imaging become normal.
•A R1 Hepatoblastoma resection does not necessitate mandatory second look surgery, provided postoperative chemotherapy is administered and alpha-fetoprotein levels and imaging become normal.•Nevertheless, complete resection remains the aim of surgery.
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