Phase I and pharmacokinetic study of gefitinib in children with refractory solid tumors: a Children's Oncology Group Study.

PURPOSE: Epidermal growth factor receptor is expressed in pediatric malignant solid tumors. We conducted a phase I trial of gefitinib, an epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, in children with refractory solid tumors. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Gefitinib (150, 300, 400, or 500 mg/m2) was administered orally to cohorts of three to six patients once daily continuously until disease progression or significant toxicity. Pharmacokinetic studies were performed during course one (day 1 through 28). RESULTS: Of the 25 enrolled patients, 19 (median age, 15 years) were fully evaluable for toxicity and received 54 courses. Dose-limiting toxicity was rash in two patients treated with 500 mg/m2 and elevated ALT and AST in one patient treated with 400 mg/m2. The maximum-tolerated dose was 400 mg/m2/d. The most frequent non-dose-limiting toxicities were grade 1 or 2 dry skin, anemia, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. One patient with Ewing's sarcoma had a partial response. Disease stabilized for 8 to > or = 60 weeks in two patients with Wilms' tumor and two with brainstem glioma (one exophytic). At 400 mg/m2, the median peak gefitinib plasma concentration was 2.2 microg/mL (range, 1.2 to 3.6 microg/mL) and occurred at a median of 2.3 hours (range, 2.0 to 8.3 hours) after drug administration. The median apparent clearance and median half-life were 14.8 L/h/m2 (range, 3.8 to 24.8 L/h/m2) and 11.7 hours (range, 5.6 to 22.8 hours), respectively. Gefitinib systemic exposures were comparable with those associated with antitumor activity in adults. CONCLUSION: Oral gefitinib is well tolerated in children. Development of the drug in combination with cytotoxic chemotherapy will be pursued.     

Olfactory neuroblastoma mimicking primary intracranial neoplasm

A case of esthesioneuroblastoma with an unusual clinical and radiographic presentation is reported. The presenting symptoms as well as the computed tomographic examination were compatible with a primary intracranial mass.     

Radiographic appearance of artificially prepared periapical lesions confined to cancellous bone

Summary. Twenty artificial periapical lesions confined to cancellous bone were prepared at the apices of first and second mandibular molars of human cadavers. The lesions emphasized removal of the lamina dura and preparation of a 'halo' lesion surrounding the root apex, plus the addition of a simulated sclerotic border. Radiographs taken before and after creation of the lesions were scored by three examiners for detectable lesions Cross-sections of the lesions were assessed for the extent of bone destruction. Periapical lesions confined to cancellous bone were detected in 80 per cent of cases, and the presence of a sclerotic border tended to enhance visualization, although not in all cases. Intentional cortical involvement also improved detection of lesions. The anatomical features of the periapical area appear to promote the visualization of lesions which might not be detected in other locations.     

Disorders of language, communication, and behavior in mentally retarded children. Some ideas on their co-occurrence

The thesis of this article is that deficits in language and communication contribute to behavior problems in childhood. Mentally retarded children show a range of deficits in language and communication compared with normals; they are also at increased risk for behavior problems. The evidence suggests that these deficits are quantitative rather than qualitative. In addition, these linguistic deficits may contribute independently to the development of behavior disorders insofar as the linguistic deficit interferes with the child's ability to make himself understood or to understand others.     

Magnetic resonance imaging in planning limb-salvage surgery for primary malignant tumors of bone

In defining the linear extent of a malignant tumor in a long bone, radiographs, computerized tomography, and scintigraphy are routinely employed, especially when non-ablative surgery is being considered. The drawbacks of these modalities in defining the true intracompartmental extent of disease within a bone can largely be overcome with the use of magnetic resonance imaging. We did a prospective analysis of magnetic resonance imaging in sixteen consecutive patients with a primary malignant tumor of a long bone, and it showed that this modality has clinical promise of being more precise than the other modalities in defining the true proximal and distal extent of a tumor in a long bone. Coronal images permit easier planning of surgical techniques for salvage of a limb using an allograft than do a multiplicity of transverse images.     

Total lymphoid irradiation in chronic polyarthritis--a new therapeutic concept

Eleven patients with refractory rheumatoid arthritis were submitted to a total lymphoid irradiation up to a dose of 20 Gy. A constant improvement of clinical symptoms was observed in four out of the eleven patients already during the treatment and in the other patients not later than two months after. The frequency of attacks decreased and the number of joints involved in the attack was reduced. Morning rigidity and joint swellings decreased. One patient developed joint empyemas 4 and 26 months after the treatment. Four patients died in the meantime. In two patients the cause of death were renal insufficiency and a postoperative cardiogenic shock associated with generalized amyloidosis. The third patient died because of a toxically induced left cardiac decompensation with sepsis that could not be controlled by antibiotic drugs and multiple joint empyemas. The fourth patient developed an abscess after surgical treatment of a Kaposi syndrome. She died three months later from acute left cardiac decompensation. The therapy induced a lymphocytopenia with decrease of T helper lymphocytes and unchanged number of T suppressor lymphocytes. The constant therapy results of total lymphoid irradiation in primary chronic polyarthritis is probably due to this modification in the immune regulation.     

Myectomy versus myotomy as an adjunct to membranectomy in the surgical repair of discrete and tunnel subaortic stenosis

The results of membranectomy and deep myectomy in the left ventricular outflow tract were compared to those of membranectomy and myotomy in 42 patients who underwent surgical repair of discrete and tunnel subaortic stenosis. Fifteen consecutive patients (Group A) underwent membranectomy and myotomy, and 27 consecutive patients (Group B) underwent membranectomy and myectomy. Two patients of Group A and nine of Group B had tunnel subaortic stenosis. The preoperative mean (+/- standard deviation) peak systolic gradients across the left ventricular outflow tract in patients with discrete subaortic stenosis types I and II were 64 +/- 29 mm Hg in Group A and 52 +/- 3 mm Hg in Group B (p = not significant). In the patients with tunnel subaortic stenosis the preoperative mean gradients were 97 +/- 74 mm Hg in Group A and 73 +/- 26 mm Hg in Group B (p = not significant). In patients with discrete subaortic stenosis types I and II, postoperative catheterization at a mean follow-up of 21 months revealed residual mean gradients of 29 +/- 24 mm Hg in Group A and 10 +/- 13 mm Hg in Group B (p less than 0.01). In the patients with tunnel subaortic stenosis, the postoperative mean gradients were 25 +/- 7 and 30 +/- 30 mm Hg in Groups A and B, respectively (p = not significant). We conclude that in the surgical management of discrete subaortic stenosis types I and II, deep myectomy (in addition to membranectomy) produces better relief of the left ventricular outflow obstruction than do membranectomy and myotomy. In patients with tunnel subaortic stenosis myectomy is less effective than in the non-tunnel type but still produces acceptable results and may delay radical procedures to a later age.