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While chemotherapy remains the first-line treatment for many cancers, it is still unclear what distinguishes responders from non-responders. Here, we characterize the chemotherapy-responsive tumor microenvironment in mice, using RNA sequencing on tumors before and after cyclophosphamide, and compare the gene expression profiles of responders with progressors.
Dysphagia, one of the most common complications in head and neck cancer (HNC) treated with radiotherapy, can severely affect patients’ quality of life. Currently, because no “gold standard” treatment exists, swallowing exercise remains the main rehabilitation strategy for dysphagia. However, patients’ compliance with long-term swallowing exercise is only 40%, thus, greatly compromising outcomes. This article aims to analyze thefactors influencing swallowing exercise compliance in patients with HNC and explains strategies developed to date for improved rehabilitation outcomes.
KMT2A-rearranged acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in infants is an aggressive disease with 3-year event-free survival below 40%. Most relapses occur during treatment, with two thirds occurring within 1 year and 90% within 2 years after diagnosis. Outcomes have not improved in recent decades despite intensification of chemotherapy.
In children, the majority of cases are self-limiting and thus many paediatric patients can be managed conservatively with minimal complications. This varies considerably compared to adult newly diagnosed immune thrombocytopaenia (NDITP) where, in most cases, thrombocytopaenia persists with higher risk of moderate to severe bleeding complications.
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in infants younger than 1 year of age is an aggressive, high-risk subtype of childhood ALL. Infant ALL with KMT2A-r is characteristically poorly responsive to chemotherapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. New strategies, such as molecularly targeted therapies and immunotherapies, are in development and show promise in preclinical models and early phase studies.
Cardio-oncology is a new multidisciplinary area of expertise that seeks to pre-emptively and proactively address cardiac complications that emerge during and following cancer therapy. Modern therapies including molecular targeted therapy and immunotherapy have broadened the agents that can cause cardiac sequelae, often with complications arising within days to weeks of therapy.
Ependymomas (EPN) are the third most common malignant brain cancer in children. Treatment strategies for pediatric EPN have remained unchanged over recent decades, with 10-year survival rates stagnating at just 67% for children aged 0-14 years. Moreover, a proportion of patients who survive treatment often suffer long-term neurological side effects as a result of therapy. It is evident that there is a need for safer, more effective treatments for pediatric EPN patients.
Children with Down syndrome (DS) are at a significantly higher risk of developing acute myeloid leukemia, also termed myeloid leukemia associated with DS (ML-DS). In contrast to the highly favorable prognosis of primary ML-DS, the limited data that are available for children who relapse or who have refractory ML-DS (r/r ML-DS) suggest a dismal prognosis. There are few clinical trials and no standardized treatment approach for this population.
Despite significant advances, outcomes for children with Down syndrome (DS, trisomy 21) who develop acute lymphoblastic leukemia remain poor. Reports of large DS-ALL cohorts have shown that children with DS have inferior event-free survival and overall survival compared to children without DS.
Patients with high-risk or metastatic Ewing sarcoma (ES) and rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) have a guarded prognosis. High-dose chemotherapy (HDT) with autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) has been evaluated as a treatment option to improve outcomes. However, survival benefits remain unclear, and treatment is associated with severe toxicities.