Acute Leukemia with Normal Platelet Count at Diagnosis

Thirty-six (17.8%) of 202 children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and 2 (3.7%) of 54 children with acute nonlymphoblastic leukemia (ANLL) had a platelet count over 150 times 10⁹/1 at diagnosis. Children with ALL and a platelet count over 150 times 10⁹/1 were analysed in detail. The ALL patients without thrombocytopenia tended to be male predominant and had less frequent bleeding manifestations (p < 0.01).These patients without thrombocytopenia had also significantly less marked leukocytosis (p < 0.01), less severe anemia (p < 0.05) and lower percentages of bone marrow blasts (p < 0.05) than those with thrombocytopenia. In addition, ALL patients without thrombocytopenia had a significantly higher probability of continuous complete remission than those with thrombocytopenia (p < 0.01).     

Is it safe to avoid bone marrow examination in suspected itp?

Two children with suspected ITP are described. One child was treated outside with corticosteroids and was diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Another child was fresh and diagnosed as acute myeloid leukemia on bone marrow aspirate examination. Both the children had no physical or peripheral smear finding suggestive of leukemia. We suggest that a bone marrow examination is required in developing countries for evaluation of thrombocytopenia before labeling it an immune thrombocytopenic purpura.     

A phase II study of diaziquone in childhood leukemia: a report from the Children's Cancer Study Group

Diaziquone (aziridinylbenzoquinone, AZQ) was given by 30-min infusion at 25 mg/m2/day on a daily x 5 schedule to 16 children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in bone marrow relapse, 16 children with acute nonlymphocytic leukemia (ANLL) in bone marrow relapse, and 1 child with chronic myelocytic leukemia in blast crisis. None of the children achieved bone marrow remission. Five children (four with ALL and one with ANLL) were also evaluable for the response of central nervous system leukemia; all had a significant reduction in the cerebrospinal fluid blast count. Mild transient transaminase elevation was commonly seen. Grade 3 and 4 hyperbilirubinemia was seen in association with sepsis. AZQ was ineffective for induction of bone marrow remission as utilized in this study.     

Immune thrombocytopenia following successful treatment of cancer in children

A predisposition to developing immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) has not been reported in survivors of childhood cancer. We report a case series of childhood cancer survivors who developed an isolated thrombocytopenia in the presence of a normocellular bone marrow. Five children, two with endodermal sinus tumors and three with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, developed ITP at a median of 4 years (range: 0.2-8 years) after completion of therapy. We suggest the association of ITP in survivors of childhood malignancy may not be co-incidental as chemotherapy may cause persistent immune dysfunction.     

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia presenting with gross hematuria

A case of a six-year-old boy presenting with gross hematuria is reported. Investigations revealed the etiology of the hematuria to be thrombocytopenia in the setting of newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The diagnosis of leukemia was confirmed by bone marrow examination. The patient’s hematuria completely resolved with platelet transfusions. Although thrombocytopenia is a very common presenting feature of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, gross hematuria is exceedingly rare. Thus, thrombocytopenia potentially caused by acute leukemia should be considered in a child presenting with gross hematuria.     

Mediastinal mass in acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who have a mediastinal mass at the time of diagnosis are said to have a poor prognosis. However, many factors which may not be independent contribute to the success of treatment. We compared the disease characteristics and results of therapy in children having large mediastinal masses and lymphoblastic leukemia without mediastinal mass. Patients with a mediastinal mass had less evidence of marrow failure but were burdened with considerably more leukemic cells as measured by peripheral blood white count and extent of lymphadenopathy. Since the presence of mediastinal mass was strongly associated with these and other poor prognostic characteristics, we used multivariate techniques to determine which characteristics were independently associated with an increased risk for relapse. White count, extent of lymphadenopathy, age, and sex were significant predictors of early relapse, but when controlled for these variables the presence of a mass did not predict prognosis.     

Hematological disorders and leukemia in children with Down syndrome

Constitutional trisomy 21 inherent to Down syndrome (DS) is associated with several hematological disorders occurring at different ages. Neonates with DS may present with transient asymptomatic blood count abnormalities such as neutrophilia, thrombocytopenia and polycythemia. Within 1-2 months of life, 3-10% of DS infants develop transient myeloproliferative disease. Despite a spontaneous regression in most of the cases, TMD can be fatal or lead to the subsequent development of myeloid leukemia in 20% of DS children (DS ML). DS ML has clinical and biological features that define a unique entity with a high sensitivity to chemotherapy and a favorable outcome. Children with DS also have an increased risk of developing acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) characterized by a more heterogeneous pattern of genetic findings and by a higher rate of treatment-related toxicities. These features highlight the role of trisomy 21 in leukemogenesis and confirm the need of specific and adapted therapeutic approach for DS children with leukemia.     

不同血小板水平儿童急性淋巴细胞白血病的临床特征及预后研究

目的 探讨儿童急性淋巴细胞白血病（ALL）初诊时不同血小板水平与预后的相关性。方法 选取采用中国儿童白血病协作组-ALL 2008（CCLG-ALL 2008）方案治疗的892例初诊ALL患儿为研究对象,按初诊时血小板水平分为血小板正常组（血小板≥ 100×10⁹/L,n=263）和血小板减少组（血小板 < 100×10⁹/L,n=629）;血小板减少组又分为（50~）×10⁹/L（n=243）、（20~）×10⁹/L（n=263）、 < 20×10⁹/L（n=123）亚组。对各组患儿的性别、年龄、免疫分型、分子生物学等临床特征与无事件生存（EFS）率、总生存（OS）率的相关性进行分析。结果 血小板正常组MLL基因重排阳性、复发率低于血小板减少组（P < 0.05）,血小板正常组10年预期EFS率高于血小板减少组（P < 0.05）,两组10年预期OS率差异无统计学意义（P > 0.05）;剔除MLL基因重排阳性患儿,血小板正常组10年预期EFS率仍高于血小板减少组（P < 0.05）,两组10年预期OS率差异仍无统计学意义（P > 0.05）。血小板 < 20×10⁹/L亚组10年预期EFS率和10年预期OS率低于血小板正常组、（50~）×10⁹/L亚组、（20~）×10⁹/L亚组（P < 0.05）;剔除MLL基因重排阳性患儿,血小板 < 20×10⁹/L亚组10年预期EFS率和10年预期OS率仍低于血小板正常组、（50~）×10⁹/L亚组、（20~）×10⁹/L亚组（P < 0.05）。结论 伴有MLL基因重排阳性的ALL患儿临床表现多为血小板减少。ALL患儿初诊时血小板水平与患儿预后相关,血小板计数正常者复发率低、预后好,血小板 < 20×10⁹/L组预后最差。     

Severe hypercalcemia as a harbinger of acute lymphoblastic leukemia

CASE: An 8-year-old girl presented to the emergency department with a history of nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, tiredness, and weight loss of 18 lb over 3 weeks. The only significant examination finding was moderate dehydration. She was found to have severe hypercalcemia (serum calcium, 20 mg/dL). The complete blood count was normal. She was treated successfully for hypercalcemia with hyperhydration, furosemide, calcitonin, and pamidronate. A few days later, she developed pancytopenia when her bone marrow biopsy specimen established the diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. CONCLUSIONS: Hypercalcemia presents with nonspecific symptoms of nausea, vomiting, pain in the abdomen, constipation, and tiredness. It can be a harbinger of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Normal complete blood cell count at presentation does not exclude the diagnosis of leukemia.     

Hemophagocytic syndrome associated with neutropenia after chemotherapy]

MATERIAL AND METHODS: This retrospective study reports 15 cases of hemophagocytic syndrome in children treated in our department during a eight-year period. RESULTS: Underlying diseases were acute lymphoblastic leukemia (n = 8) acute myeloblastic leukemia (n = 6) and Burkitt lymphoma (n = 1). Hemophagocytic syndrome was suspected after chemotherapy, in case of an unusual prolonged febrile neutropenia (n = 14) or isolated thrombocytopenia (n = 1). That fever was associated with cutaneous, pulmonary, hematologic, digestive and cardiac signs. Biological disorders included hypoprotidemia, hyponatremia, increased liver enzymes and fibrinopenia. Thrombocytopenia was observed in all patients and was associated with neutropenia for 14 of them. Diagnosis of hemophagocytic syndrome was always confirmed by bone marrow aspiration (infiltration with activated macrophages). Infection was documented in eight children. The treatment of hemophagocytic syndrome relied on steroids and resolution of symptoms occurred within three days of therapy. No recurrence of hemophagocytic syndrome was observed with a median follow up of two years and a half. CONCLUSION: Such complication should be suspected in cases of prolonged febrile neutropenia and/or thrombocytopenia, and confirmed by bone marrow aspiration. Indeed, steroid therapy is effective and chemotherapy can be then pursued.     

Bone marrow transplantation improves survival for acute lymphoblastic leukemia in relapse: a preliminary report

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia of childhood is the most common malignant disease in children greater than 1 year of age. Chemotherapy has improved the survival of children with this disorder. More than 95% of children will achieve a remission with chemotherapy. However, 30% of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who achieved a remission will have a relapse sometime after successful remission-inducing chemotherapy. Although a second remission can be induced in most of these children, in 10-40% a remission cannot be induced or they relapse shortly thereafter and develop refractory leukemia. We present in this preliminary report the early results of therapy for refractory leukemia with an intensive preparative regimen for bone marrow transplantation including etoposide, cytosine arabinoside, cyclophosphamide, and fractionated total body irradiation. Transplantation was done in twenty-three patients with refractory leukemia. Projected survival at 917 days after transplantation in these patients is 43.4% +/- 11%. The survival of these patients so far is similar to the survival of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia transplanted in second remission. All patients treated with this regimen who had transplantation in relapse were free of leukemia 27 days after transplantation. The results of this preliminary report suggest that an intensive preparative regimen can improve the outlook of refractory leukemia and may rescue some patients who otherwise would have died of their disease.     

Pandemic H1N1 influenza infection in children with acute leukemia: a single-center experience

In English literature, there are only 2 specific series of pandemic H1N1 influenza infection in children with leukemia. To increase knowledge about pandemic influenza in children with leukemia and better understand the risk factors for severe disease, we have presented the clinical characteristics of 8 children with acute leukemia and pandemic influenza treated at our center. The mean age of the children (4 girls and 4 boys) was 6.7±2.0 years (range, 4 to 10 y). All these children [3 acute lymphoblastic leukemia and 5 acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cases] were receiving chemotherapy during the course of infection, except 1 who was found to be H1N1 positive at the same time that she was diagnosed with AML. Among the other 7 patients undergoing chemotherapy, 4 were receiving induction, 1 was receiving consolidation, and 2 were undergoing maintenance chemotherapy. In our series, 1 patient with AML had a fatal course. She had recently received a chemotherapy bloc. Her neutrophil count was 0 during the course of H1N1 infection. She developed acute respiratory distress syndrome within a short time after the symptoms commenced and she died within 4 days. In conclusion, the clinical course of H1N1 infection may be fatal in rare cases of leukemic children receiving chemotherapy. Thus, vaccination is advisable for all leukemic children, especially for those under maintenance chemotherapy, as it might be life saving during such pandemics.     

Serial determination of serum ferritin in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Evaluation of its usefulness as a prognostic index.

Thirty children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia were monitored with serial serum ferritin determinations for up to 17 months. In children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia before initiation of therapy, or in relapse, the mean serum ferritin concentration was 636 microgram/l. In children who went into primary remission. the mean serum ferritin concentration fell from 265 microgram/l prior to start of treatment, to 161 microgram/l after 3 months of treatment. Five patients relapsed. Their serum ferritin levels prior to the relapses ranged from 7 to 135 microgram/l. At the time of relapse a further increase in serum ferritin was found in only 2 of the children. Thus, whereas high serum ferritin levels may signal disease activity in acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a normal serum ferritin level does not exlude disease activity or impending relapse.     

Fungemia and renal fungus ball formation with Candida norvegensis in a child with acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Invasive fungal infections cause significant morbidity and mortality in pediatric cancer patients. Candida species are the most frequently isolated pathogen. Candida species may cause bloodstream and deep-seated infection in neutropenic children with cancer. The gastrointestinal system, lung, liver and spleen are the most frequently involved organs. Isolated renal involvement presented as abscess formation has been reported rarely in children with cancer. Herein, we report a patient with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who presented with renal abscess and fungus ball formation due to Candida norvegensis, which is an unusual cause of infection.     

Elevated common acute lymphoblastic leukemia antigen expression in pediatric immune thrombocytopenic purpura.

Bone marrow examination is often performed in thrombocytopenic children to distinguish immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) from acute leukemia. We describe a patient with thrombocytopenia and 50% common acute lymphoblastic leukemia antigen (CALLA) positivity in his marrow who was subsequently shown to have ITP. CALLA (CD10) is a surface antigen found in early B-lymphocytes and is elevated in most cases of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). This case prompted us to prospectively study the frequency of immature lymphocyte populations in children with ITP. Fourteen patients with acute ITP and five with other conditions were studied. The two groups were comparable with respect to age: ITP mean, 4.3 (range 0.3-15.5) years; control mean, 5.8 (0.6-13.8) years. The ITP group had a significantly higher percentage of CD10 positive bone marrow lymphocytes (p = 0.007). Five of the 10 patients younger than 4 years of age in the ITP group had CD10 levels of greater than 30%, which is in the leukemic range, whereas none of the control patients had a CD10 levels of greater than 17% (p = 0.003). There was good correlation between CD10 positivity and B4 positivity indicating that both of these markers arise from the same population of immature B-lymphocytes. None of the ITP patients who were older than 4 years had a CD10 level of greater than 30%. We conclude that it is common to have an increase in the proportion of immature lymphocytes in the marrow of young children with ITP. The cause of this increase in CD10 positive cells is unknown.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

儿童急性淋巴细胞白血病早期治疗反应的预后价值：上海儿童医学中心单中心的临床报告

目的：在儿童急性淋巴细胞白血病（ALL）治疗中,早期治疗反应是最重要的预后因素之一。该文评价了诱导治疗第19天及血液学完全缓解时骨髓存在形态学可辨认的幼稚淋巴细胞数及微量残留病(MRD)监测在儿童ALL治疗中的预后价值。方法：1998年1月至2003年5月接受ALL-XH-99方案治疗的193例新诊治的ALL患儿为研究对象。联合化疗第19天及诱导缓解治疗结束时行骨髓形态学检查以及血液学缓解时用四色MP-FCM检测MRD。生存分析采用Kaplan-Meier方法,各组无事生存率（EFS）之间的比较采用log-rank检验,各生物学特征的比较采用χ2检验或Fisher确切概率法（双尾）,COX风险比例模型用于评估预后因素。结果：①诱导治疗第19天骨髓幼稚淋巴细胞≥5%与<5%的患儿4年EFS差异有非常显著性意义 (42.59%±14.28% vs 74.24%±6.67%;P<0.01);②诱导缓解治疗结束达血液学缓解时存在形态学可识别的幼稚淋巴细胞（幼稚淋巴细胞>0%）与此时无形态学可辨认的幼稚淋巴细胞的患儿4年EFS差异有显著性意义（63.47%±9.23% vs 76.41%±6.09%; P<0.05）;③ 诱导缓解治疗结束血液学完全缓解时 MRD≥0.01%与 MRD<0.01%的患儿15月EFS差异有非常显著性意义（23.81%±20.26% vs 94.44%±5.40%; P<0.01）。结论：诱导治疗第19天骨髓幼稚细胞数≥5%、诱导治疗结束血液学缓解时骨髓幼稚细胞＞0%及MRD监测在儿童急性淋巴细胞白血病治疗中具有预后价值,可用于发展中国家儿童ALL早期治疗反应的评估。［中国当代儿科杂志,2009,11（1）：5-9］     

Elevation of cerebrospinal fluid sialic acid concentration in children with central nervous system leukemia

We studied sialic acid in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 52 children with leukemia and 51 children with non-leukemic diseases. The CSF sialic acid concentration in the children with central nervous system (CNS) leukemia was significantly higher than that in the children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia without CNS involvement, acute non-lymphocytic leukemia without CNS involvement, non-hemopoietic diseases, non-suppurative meningitis, epilepsy, and other neurologic diseases. Serial determinations revealed a rapid decline in the CSF sialic acid concentrations in the patients with CNS leukemia who responded well to the therapy and who were free from relapse of CNS leukemia. The simultaneously determined CSF beta 2 microglobulin concentration did not show any significant changes. These results suggest that the CSF sialic acid may be a good indicator of CNS leukemia.     

SERIAL DETERMINATIONS OF SERUM FERRITIN IN CHILDREN WITH ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKEMIA Evaluation of its Usefulness as a Prognostic Index

Abstract. Thirty children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia were monitored with serial serum ferritin determinations for up to 17 months. In children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia before initiation of therapy, or in relapse, the mean serum ferritin concentration was 636 μg/l. In children who went into primary remission, the mean serum ferritin concentration fell from 265 μg/l prior to start of treatment, to 161 μg/l after 3 months of treatment. Five patients relapsed. Their serum ferritin levels prior to the relapses ranged from 7 to 135 μg/l. At the time of relapse a further increase in serum ferritin was found in only 2 of the children. Thus, whereas high serum ferritin levels may signal disease activity in acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a normal serum ferritin level does not exclude disease activity or impending relapse.     

Successful treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia with L-asparaginase-induced intracranial hemorrhage to activated recombinant factor VIIa in a child

L-Asparaginase, a major component of therapy in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, has been shown to induce coagulopathy by inhibiting synthesis of clot-forming and clot-inhibitory proteins. The authors report the successful use of recombinant factor VIIa in a 15-year-old girl with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who had L-asparaginase-induced intracranial hemorrhage. The present case is the first to demonstrate use of rFVIIa in L-asparaginase-induced intracranial hemorrhage in a child with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.