Search

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common form of cancer in children. Second neoplasms as late effects of therapy for ALL have been recognized as a significant clinical issue given the increasing number of long-term survivors of ALL, because they can be the cause of death in such cases. In contrast, glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common primary brain tumor in adults. It is a malignant brain tumor that most often occurs in elderly patients, and GBM in young adults or adolescents appears to be rare. Here, we describe our experience of two cases of GBM in young long-term survivors of ALL, and emphasize the necessity of careful follow up of patients treated for ALL for the potential occurrence of central nervous system second neoplasms, especially when the patients have previously undergone cranial radiotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Previous research has shown that adult childhood cancer survivors (CCS) have many worries. We re-analyzed the employment data in order to identify these worries and their associated factors. Methods The participants were selected from the membership directory of Heart Link mutual-aid health insurance, and recruited by the CCS Network. We conducted a cross-sectional survey (a self-rated questionnaire on employment) via post or email with a link to an Internet website. We investigated the association between CCS factors and the specific worries. The adjusted odds ratios (OR) for the associated factors with a specific worry were estimated on logistic regression analysis. Results A total of 240 questionnaires were collected by November 2012. One questionnaire was excluded because the answers were not provided by the CCS him/herself. The most common worries were health-related problems (50%) and employment issues (40%), which were followed by his/her personality and life (23%) and self-appearance (20%). Fifty (21%) out of 239 CCS answered no specific worry. The common consistent factor associated with worries was the presence of late effects. Of note was that the CCS worries were not associated with age at diagnosis or follow up, gender, educational achievement or marriage. The worry about employment issues was associated with economic status, disability qualification, and employment status. Conclusions The CCS worries were strongly affected by the presence of late effects. No significant association was noted between CCS worries and gender, age at diagnosis or follow up, or educational achievements. Economic status and disability qualification were associated with some worries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kasabach-Merritt syndrome ( KMS) is characterized by hemangioma associated with life-threatening thrombocytopenia, and is a consumptive coagulopathy. Although treatments available include corticosteroids, α-interferon, vincristine, and surgery, response may be unsatisfactory, and the mortality rate remains at approximately 30%. Although radiotherapy has been used effectively for KMS, it may cause growth retardation and secondary malignancy. We report a case of KMS in which hemangioma of the left thigh was successfully treated with low-dose radiotherapy (6 Gy in six fractions, weekly) after failure of corticosteroid therapy. No significant late effects due to the radiotherapy were noted at 5 year follow up. Thus, low-dose radiotherapy remains an important treatment method for KMS when patients fail to respond to other treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]