Cancer in Iraq: seven years' data from the Baghdad Tumour Registry

The relative frequency, by age, sex and site, of the malignant tumours notified to the Baghdad Cancer Registry for the period 1976-1982 is presented. The pattern of cancer occurrence resembles that seen in other Middle-Eastern populations in the frequency of respiratory cancer and lymphomas, and the apparent deficit of cervix cancer. Cancer of the urinary bladder is the dominant tumour, the majority being squamous-cell carcinomas, and the occurrence of this type is associated with histological evidence of infection with Schistosoma haematobium. However, the prevalence of schistosome ova in association with bladder cancer is lower than that reported in other endemic areas.     

Solid ovarian tumours in childhood: a 35-year review in a single institution

Purpose  

Solid ovarian tumours are uncommon in childhood. Our aim is to evaluate the outcomes in a single institution over 35 years.     

beta-Catenin status predicts a favorable outcome in childhood medulloblastoma: the United Kingdom Children's Cancer Study Group Brain Tumour Committee.

PURPOSE: Identifying pathobiological correlates of clinical behavior or therapeutic response currently represents a key challenge for medulloblastoma research. Nuclear accumulation of the beta-catenin protein is associated with activation of the Wnt/Wg signaling pathway, and mutations affecting components of this pathway have been reported in approximately 15% of sporadic medulloblastomas. We tested the hypothesis that nuclear immunoreactivity for beta-catenin is a prognostic marker in medulloblastoma, and assessed the relationship between nuclear beta-catenin immunoreactivity and mutations of CTNNB1 and APC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Medulloblastomas from children entered onto the International Society for Pediatric Oncology (SIOP)/United Kingdom Children's Cancer Study Group (UKCCSG) PNET3 trial (n = 109) were examined for beta-catenin immunoreactivity, and where tissue was available, evidence of CTNNB1 and APC mutations. The results were correlated with clinicopathologic variables, principally outcome. RESULTS: Children with medulloblastomas that showed a nucleopositive beta-catenin immunophenotype (27 of 109; 25%) had significantly better overall (OS) and event-free (EFS) survivals than children with tumors that showed either membranous/cytoplasmic beta-catenin immunoreactivity or no immunoreactivity (P = .0015 and P = .0026, respectively). For beta-catenin nucleopositive and nucleonegative medulloblastomas, 5-year OS was 92.3% (95% CI, 82% to 100%) versus 65.3% (95% CI, 54.8 to 75.7%), and 5-year EFS was 88.9% (95% CI, 77% to 100%) versus 59.5% (95% CI, 48.8 to 70.2%), respectively. Mutations in CTNNB1 were found exclusively among medulloblastomas that demonstrated nuclear beta-catenin immunoreactivity, but no evidence of APC mutation was found in these cases. All children with beta-catenin nucleopositive large cell/anaplastic medulloblastomas and beta-catenin nucleopositive medulloblastomas presenting with metastatic disease are alive at least 5 years postdiagnosis. CONCLUSION: Nuclear accumulation of beta-catenin appears to be a marker of favorable outcome in medulloblastoma, and should be investigated further in large group-wide trials.     

Single agent efficacy of rituximab in childhood immunosuppression related lymphoproliferative disease: a United Kingdom Children's Cancer Study Group (UKCCSG) retrospective review

Survival in childhood lymphoproliferative disease (LPD) remains poor, particularly in non-transplant patients. The anti-CD20 antibody rituximab shows promise but data in children is scant. A retrospective study of 22 (aged 11 months to 18 years) children treated with rituximab is presented. Two had primary immunodeficiency, two had prolonged immunosuppression and 18 had post-transplant LPD (eight bone marrow, five liver, four heart, one kidney). Nine patients had multi-organ involvement and 13 single site disease. Seventeen out of 22 had rituximab alone. In 16, a dose of 375 mg/m2 i.v. weekly was used (less in one patient due to renal dysfunction). Twelve patients received four courses and ten patients received one to three courses. Fever was the main side-effect in four. Eight (47%) had single agent response; four complete and four partial. All had other treatment prior to rituximab. Median follow-up was 35 months (range 22 - 47 months). In childhood LPD unresponsive to standard treatment, rituximab showed single agent response and requires further evaluation.     

Incidence of cancers and socio-professional status: data from the Bas-Rhin tumor Registry from 1975 to 1979

Data recorded in the Bas-Rhin cancer registry from 1975 to 1979 were used for studying the relationship between the incidence of some categories of cancer and social class. The relative risks associated with specific standardized incidence ratio (SIOR) of each cancer and social class were measured. Most of the results do not differ from other studies in developed countries. This study shows a positive gradient for colorectal cancers (SIOR = 58.4 in the lower class, 144.5 (non significant) in the upper class) and a negative gradient for cancers of the upper respiratory tract (SIOR = 51.5 in the upper class, 140.9 in the lower class). Urinary cancers (kidney, bladder) are not distributed as usual (SIOR = 201.5 in the upper class, 63.6 in the lower class). The validity of the measurement indices (SIR, SIOR, SPIR) is discussed.     

Childhood rhabdomyosarcoma: experience of the Children's Solid Tumour Group.

Seventy three children with rhabdomyosarcoma were treated by members of the Children''s Solid Tumour Group during the period, 1974-1981. The extent of disease at diagnosis was found to be the major influence affecting outcome. Children with tumours confined to the tissue of origin with no evidence of nodal or metastatic spread, had a predicted actuarial 5-year survival rate of 86%. However children with ''unconfined'' tumours, i.e. those with extension of disease outside the tissue of origin, had a much poorer prognosis with an actuarial 5-year survival rate of only 21%. Two other factors, histological type and site of primary tumour, appeared to affect prognosis but were not independent of the extent of disease at diagnosis. All children were treated according to protocol. Fifty-two patients showed a complete response to initial therapy and 4 of the 11 partial responders achieved a full remission after additional therapy. The overall complete response rate was therefore 77%. Nineteen children who achieved a complete response on initial treatment subsequently relapsed. Only 3 of these children were alive with no evidence of disease 3 years later, a salvage rate of 15%. "Late" relapses, defined as those occurring more than 2 years after diagnosis, were seen in only 5 children, 4 in boys with primary paratesticular tumours.     

Patient attrition in Molecular Tumour Boards: a systematic review

Background Molecular Tumour Boards (MTBs) were created with the purpose of supporting clinical decision-making within precision medicine. Though in use globally, reporting on these meetings often focuses on the small percentages of patients that receive treatment via this process and are less likely to report on, and assess, patients who do not receive treatment.Methods A literature review was performed to understand patient attrition within MTBs and barriers to patients receiving treatment. A total of 51 papers were reviewed spanning a 6-year period from 11 different countries.Results In total, 20% of patients received treatment through the MTB process. Of those that did not receive treatment, the main reasons were no mutations identified (27%), no actionable mutations (22%) and clinical deterioration (15%). However, data were often incomplete due to inconsistent reporting of MTBs with only 55% reporting on patients having no mutations, 55% reporting on the presence of actionable mutations with no treatment options and 59% reporting on clinical deterioration.Discussion As patient attrition in MTBs is an issue which is very rarely alluded to in reporting, more transparent reporting is needed to understand barriers to treatment and integration of new technologies is required to process increasing omic and treatment data.Subject terms: Targeted therapies, Targeted therapies, Cancer genomics     

Fine needle aspiration in the diagnosis of childhood malignant disease in Uganda

One hundred aspirations using a fine needle have been performed on 94 patients with a suspected diagnosis of malignant tumour, 31 of which were in patients with recurrent tumour. In 90 aspirates where histology was also available there was agreement between histological and cytological diagnosis in 81 (90%). This percentage was identical when only previously undiagnosed tumours were considered (60). In 4 aspirates no cells were obtained from tumours in which a diagnosis was made histologically and in 5 there was disagreement with histology, either regarding the presence of malignancy, or tumour type. The technique of fine needle aspiration is simple, rapid, safe and reliable. It is particularly valuable when emergency treatment is required, necessitating a very rapid diagnosis, or when the tumour is entirely intra-abdominal and the patient is unfit for laparotomy. Repeat aspirates may be performed to assess progress following treatment, or multiple suspected tumour sites may be aspirated to assist staging. The technique may be used to confirm the presence of relapsing tumour. Aspiration cytology may prove valuable as a further dimension in the interpretation of histological sections in a variety of childhood tumours, and in some circumstances may be sufficient in itself to establish a diagnosis.     

Colonic stenting for malignant disease: review of literature

Colonic stents potentially offer effective palliation for patients with bowel obstruction attributable to incurable malignancy, and a "bridge to surgery" for those in whom emergency surgery would necessitate a stoma. Literature search of the Medline, Scopus and Cochrane Library was performed to identify comparative studies reporting outcomes on colonic stenting and surgery for large bowel obstruction; and to identify the use of stents as a "bridge to the elective surgery". Colorectal stenting can be considered a safe and effective procedure with a low mortality and morbidity for both preoperative and palliative decompression of colonic obstruction.     

Pre-natal irradiation and childhood malignancy: a review of British data from the Oxford Survey.

This paper reviews data relating to obstetric radiography from the Oxford Survey of Childhood Cancers, i.e. for deaths in Britain from 1953 to 1967. Some 8513 cases were traced and used in the analyses, together with an equal number of matched controls. The relative risk estimate (1-47 overall) does not vary significantly between different tumour groups, for different ages at death, nor between sexes. Other epidemiological factors-sibship position, maternal age, social class, region of residence and maternal morbidity-are analysed and show varying degrees of association, but not sufficient to "explain" the observed risk in terms of a selection effect. The dependence of the risk on the number of films exposed is highly significant and adequately described by a linear relationship. The timing of and reason for the exposure are also examined. Analysis of the risk by year of birth shows a pattern of steadily declining risk for both solid and haematopoietic tumours; this may be partly attributable to lower radiation doses per film exposed but is also due to the smaller numbers of films used. A consequence may well be that the risk-always of small clinical significance-would become virtually undetectable in future investigations.     

Incidence of malignant disease by morphological type, in young persons aged 12-24 years in England, 1979-1997

Cancer incidence data are generally presented in terms of primary site, but this method is inappropriate for cancers in young persons. We have used a morphology-based classification system to produce national incidence rates for cancers in persons aged 12–24 years by detailed diagnostic sub-type. The overall incidence rates for malignant disease in young persons aged 12–14, 15–19 and 20–24 years were 10.1, 14.4 and 22.6 per 100 000 population, respectively. The three most frequent cancer types in 12–14-year-olds were leukaemias, lymphomas and central nervous system (CNS) tumours. In 15–19-year-olds, lymphomas were most frequent and leukaemias second with carcinomas third. In 20–24-year-olds, lymphomas were again most frequent, but carcinomas and germ cell tumours were second and third. There was also variation with age in the ratios of rates in males and females. These changing incidence patterns have aetiological implications and provide clues for future hypothesis-based research.     

Chemotherapy in malignant mesothelioma: a review

Summary This review of malignant mesothelioma focuses on the activity of single-agent and combination chemotherapy, a field in which research has thus far been rather unsystematic and sparse. Available results neither accede to any substantial drug activity nor justify the use of standard therapy. Furthermore, even when pooled most findings do not fulfil the basic criteria for a phase II trial. Prospective (multicenter) phase II trials are recommended for the identification of new agents that show antineoplastic activity in malignant mesothelioma. The use of computed tomography scans can assist in the prediction of the extent of disease both before and during treatment. Tumorbiological systems using mice xenografts or cell lines of human mesothelioma should be further developed so as to improve the screening of new agents exhibiting potential antineoplastic activity that is especially directed against mesothelioma.     

Incidence of childhood cancer: experience of a decade in a population-based registry

Incidence rates of cancer among children aged 0-14 for the period 1970-79 have been generated with the use of data from the Greater Delaware Valley (GDV) Pediatric Tumor Registry. This population-based registry covers a 31-county area and has a pediatric base population of 2 million. During the period, approximately 2,300 cases of childhood cancer were diagnosed in the region. Incidence rates for all histologic types combined are similar to rates from other large surveys conducted in the United States and Western Europe. However, certain histology-specific rates in the GDV vary by race. In the GDV nonwhites relative to whites have higher rates of Wilms' tumor, soft tissue sarcomas other than rhabdomyosarcoma, and retinoblastoma. These contrasts are supported by surveys in African populations showing relatively higher rates of these tumors among African black children. GDV whites exceed nonwhites in incidence of acute leukemia, neuroblastoma, and Ewing's sarcoma. African black children also experience low rates of these tumors. The frequency of central nervous system tumors is similar for GDV whites and nonwhites, despite reports of a rarity of these neoplasms in African blacks. Variations in incidence rates reveal population subgroups with particular tumor susceptibilities and may provide clues as to the relative influence of heredity and environment on patterns observed.     

A review of childhood cases of malignant lymphoma in Osaka, Japan

Fifty-one cases of malignant lymphomas in patients under 20 years of age have been reviewed in Osaka, Japan. The breakdown of these cases revealed 6 cases (11.8%) of Hodgkin's disease (HD) and 45 cases (88.2%) of a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Both the HD and NHL cases were determined by using the Rye classification, as well as the Rappaport, Kiel, and LSG classifications, respectively. The results have shown that (1) the incidence of HD in childhood is the same as that seen in the adult in Japan; (2) that a NHL of the nodular type is rare in Japan as it is in Western countries; (3) that any significant differences were not present in the distribution of each histologic subtype in the cases of a NHL among Japan and Western countries, and that the lymphoblastic type was the most common. From this study it is concluded that geographical differences were not a factor in comparing cases of childhood malignant lymphomas in Japan and Western countries.     

Diagnosis delays in childhood cancer: a review

Timely access to quality healthcare has become an increasingly important public health concern over the years. Early diagnosis of cancer is a fundamental goal in oncology because it allows an opportunity for timely treatment while disease burden is still in its earliest stages. Consequently, prognosis may improve, and a cure can be attained with minimal side or late effects. This review examined delays present in diagnosis of childhood cancers and factors that influence these delays. An extensive search of the literature published before April 15, 2007 was conducted for studies that evaluated any type of delay along the cancer-care continuum. Twenty-three studies were included. Diagnosis delay varied across studies. Physician delays were generally longer than those consequent to parents' or patients' recognition of underlying disease. Causes of delays can be grouped into 3 categories: patient and/or parent, disease, and healthcare. The main factors related to diagnosis delay were the child's age at diagnosis, parent level of education, type of cancer, presentation of symptoms, tumor site, cancer stage, and first medical specialty consulted. Greater understanding of factors that influence delays and the individual impact of patient and provider delays on disease severity and prognosis would be useful to form effective policies and programs aimed at ensuring timely access to healthcare for children with cancer.     

Incidence of childhood leukaemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in France: National Registry of Childhood Leukaemia and Lymphoma, 1990-1999.

The French National Registry of Childhood Leukaemia and Lymphoma (NRCL) covers the whole French mainland population aged less than 15 years (approximately 11 million children) for all childhood haematopoietic tumours since 1 January 1990, except Hodgkin's disease, which has been registered since 1 January 1999. During the period from 1990 to 1999, 5757 cases of leukaemia, lymphoma and myelodysplastic syndrome were registered in the NRCL, with an average of 2.5 sources per case. The age-standardized incidence rates per million per year were 43.1 for leukaemia (34.3 for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, 7.1 for acute myeloblastic leukaemia, 0.6 for chronic myeloid leukaemia and 0.5 for chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia), 8.9 for non-Hodgkin's lymphomas and 6.7 for Hodgkin's disease. Down's syndrome was present in 110 cases of acute leukaemia (2.5%) and three cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (0.3%). The incidence of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia showed a typical peak at age 2 years for girls and 3 years for boys. The incidence rates of leukaemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma did not show any temporal trends over the 10 year period.     

Temozolomide in malignant gliomas of childhood: a United Kingdom Children's Cancer Study Group and French Society for Pediatric Oncology Intergroup Study.

PURPOSE: To determine the response rate of the malignant gliomas of childhood to an oral, daily schedule of temozolomide. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A multicenter, phase II evaluation of an oral, daily schedule of temozolomide (200 mg/m(2) on 5 consecutive days) was undertaken in children with relapsed or progressive, biopsy-proven, high-grade glioma (arm A) and progressive, diffuse, intrinsic brainstem glioma (arm B). Evidence of activity was defined by radiologic evidence of a sustained reduction in tumor size on serial magnetic resonance imaging scans. RESULTS: Fifty-five patients were recruited (34 to arm A and 21 to arm B) and received 215 cycles of chemotherapy. Grade 3/4 thrombocytopenia was the most frequent toxic event (7% of cycles). Prolonged myelosuppression resulted in significant treatment delays and dose reductions (17% and 22% of cycles, respectively). Two toxic deaths were documented and were related to myelosuppression and sepsis in one patient and pneumonia in a second. The overall (best) response rate was 12% for arm A (95% confidence interval [CI], 3 to 28 in the study cohort, and 2 to 31 for eligible patients) and 5% and 6%, respectively, for arm B (95% CI, 0 to 26 in the study cohort, and 0 to 27 for eligible patients). Stabilization of disease was also documented and was most noteworthy for brainstem gliomas, where two patients achieved both radiologic static disease and discontinued steroid medication. CONCLUSION: Despite moderate toxicity, objective response rates to temozolomide have been low, indicating that temozolomide has minimal activity in the high-grade gliomas of childhood.     

Cancer Incidence in Saudi Arabia: 2012 Data from the Saudi Cancer Registry

Background: In order to most appropriately allocate healthcare and research funding for cancer, it is important to have accurate population-based incidence data. The Saudi Cancer Registry (SCR) provides such information, covering the time period from 1994 to the present day. The current report concerns an overview of cancer incidence statistics for Saudi Arabia in 2012. Methods: The SCR collects data from healthcare facilities throughout the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. All newly diagnosed cases of cancer are recorded, with information on site and histology. For the present report, age-standardised and age-specific incidence rates (ASR, AIR, respectively) were calculated, with attention to gender-specific and regional differences. Results: The total number of incident cases of cancer identified by the SCR in 2012 was 14,336, with 6,791 (47.5%) among males and 7,545 (52.6%) among females. Of this total, 11,034 cases (76.9%) occurred in patients of Saudi origin. For Saudi males, the overall ASR (inc. all cancer sites) was 78.1 per 100,000 people, while that for females was 86.7. Incidence varied by region, with the Eastern region and Riyadh displaying the highest ASRs for both males and females, and Hail and Jazan displaying the lowest. Incidence varied by gender, with colorectal cancer (13.3%), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL; 8.4%), and leukaemia (8.2%) being the most common types in males, and breast (25.8%), thyroid (11.7%), and colorectal cancers (9.3%) being the most common in females. Conclusions: This analysis of cancer incidence in Saudi Arabia demonstrated significant differences according to gender, age, and region of the Kingdom. The data should help ensure the most appropriate allocation of resources, with the aim of minimising the healthcare burden associated with cancer.