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The purpose of the study was to determine if abdomen/pelvis computed tomography ( CT) can be safety omitted in the initial staging of a subgroup of children affected by Hodgkin Lymphoma ( HL). Every participating center of A.I.E.O.P (Associazione Italiana di Ematologia ed Oncologia Pediatrica) sent local staging reports of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography ( PET) and abdominal ultrasound ( US) along with digital images of staging abdomen/pelvis CT to the investigation center where the CT scans were evaluated by an experienced pediatric radiologist. The local radiologist who performed the US was unaware of local CT and PET reports (both carried out after US), and the reviewer radiologist examining the CT images was unaware of local US, PET and CT reports. A new abdominal staging of 123 patients performed on the basis of local US report, local PET report, and centralized CT report was then compared to a simpler staging based on local US and PET. No additional lesion was discovered by CT in patients with abdomen/pelvis negativity in both US and PET or isolated spleen positivity in US (or US and PET), and so it seems that in the initial staging, abdomen/pelvis CT can be safety omitted in about 1/2 to 2/3 of children diagnosed with HL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Imatinib mesylate ( IM) is used for the management of childhood chronic myeloid leukaemia ( CML). The most effective dosage of IM and its long-term efficacy in children are not well defined. The purpose of this multicentre study is to report on the long-term results of high-dose IM (340 mg/m2/d) in CML patients in chronic phase ( CP- CML) aged <18 years at diagnosis. A total of 47 CP- CML patients with a median age at diagnosis of 11 years 9 months were enrolled in nine Italian centres. Complete cytogenetic response was achieved in 91·5% of the evaluable patients at a median time of 6 months. BCR- ABL1 International Scale ≤ 0·1% (major molecular response; MMR) and ≤0·01% (molecular response; MR) at 12 months were 66·6% and 33%, respectively. During follow-up, MMR and MR were achieved in 78·6% and 61% of children, respectively. IM was safely discontinued in 3 long-term treated children with a durable MR. Twelve patients (eight cytogenetic/molecular responders) underwent stem cell transplantation. The progression-free survival probabilities at 96 months for responding patients who continued IM and for those transplanted were 60% and 50%, respectively. After a median follow-up of 52 months (range 3-146), all patients are alive . High-dose IM is a long-term effective therapy in children and adolescents with CP- CML. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]