The genetic and epigenetic basis of ependymoma

Introduction  

Although ependymoma is the third most common pediatric brain tumor, we know little about the genetic/epigenetic basis of its initiation, maintenance, or progression. This is due in part to the heterogeneity of the disease, as well as the small sample size of the cohorts analyzed in most studies.     

广西边远少数民族学生体型及体质量指数3年追踪**

背景: 前期研究表明广西18~22岁少数民族学生体质量偏轻。 目的：拟进一步了解广西2645名少数民族学生体型及体质健康状况，寻找影响的关联因子。 设计、时间及地点：追踪调查，于2004-12/2007-12在广西民族大学完成。 对象：广西民族大学2003/2005三次体质健康测试的全体学生2 645人。男1 337人，女1308人，年龄为18~20岁，共15个民族。 方法：根据2003年教育部、体育总局《学生体质健康标准（试行方案）》和实施方法分为形态指标、技能指标和身体素质指标3大类。对2 645名少数民族身体机能与体质量指数变化的跟踪调查。 主要观察指标：身高、体质量、肺活量、立定跳远、坐位体前屈、体质量指数。 结果：①广西民族大学2003级学生大学3年期间男生身高、体质量增长率比全国同期多2.45%，身体形态发育正处于高峰期，女生成偏瘦型体型，身体形态发育情况总体欠佳。②男女学生在刚入校时肺活量机能较差，远远低于同期全国平均水平。3年后男生肺活量增长率为11.55%、女生肺活量增长率为27.72%，分别高于全国同期肺活量增长率。③坐位体前屈机能高于同期全国平均水平，男生呈逐年上升趋势，同期全国男性呈下降趋势；同期全国乡村女生均呈逐年上升趋势。④立定跳远机能提高较大，3年后增长率为18.15%，明显高于全国同期立定跳远增长率水平的2.61%。女生立定跳远机能总体不如全国同期水平。⑤体质量指数总体与同期全国乡村男女学生体质量指数比较稍低一些(P < 0.01)。 结论：2 645名少数民族学生发育正处于高峰期；肺活量机能不及全国同期平均水平。男女体质量指数分布有所不同，体质量偏轻者女生多于男生，表明学生营养状况总体欠佳。     

Abnormal fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in benign esophageal leiomyoma

A benign esophageal leiomyoma with abnormally increased fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake on positron emission tomography (PET) was resected thoracoscopically. The tumor, of which the maximum standardized uptake value of the lesion was 4.7, was well defined and 38 mm in diameter. Neither mitotic activity nor degeneration was found histologically; and immunoreactivity for CD34, CD117, MIB-1, and glucose transporter-1 was negative immunohistochemically. A diagnosis of gastrointestinal stromal tumor was ruled out by an oncogenic kinase gene mutation study. This case cautions against PET-dependent evaluation for malignant potential of esophageal submucosal tumors.     

Intussusception in Taiwanese children: analysis of incidence, length of hospitalization and hospital costs in different age groups.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: This study investigated the characteristics of intussusception in Taiwanese children of different age groups, including the incidence, length of hospitalization and hospital costs. METHODS: Children with a diagnosis of intussusception who were hospitalized from 1999 through 2001 were identified from a nationwide health insurance claims database. The incidence of intussusception was calculated by age, gender, and season. Length of hospitalization and hospital costs were also analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 6988 cases of intussusception were identified in Taiwan from 1999 to 2001. Among them, 4859 cases occurred in children below 15 years of age. The average incidence among children below age 15 years was 34.5 per 100,000, with a peak incidence of 118.8 per 100,000 observed among children younger than 24 months old. The highest incidence of intussusception in Taiwanese children occurred between 12 and 24 months of age. According to the data for patients below 15 years of age hospitalized for intussusception in year 2000, males were more likely to be affected than females (61.3% vs 38.7%). Intussusception-related hospitalizations were rare in infants in the first few months of life, increased in those 6 to 12 months old, and peaked among children 1 to 3 years old. Among the 952 patients with intussusception admitted to hospitals in 2000, 297 (31.2%) received surgery, incurring higher median medical costs (New Taiwan Dollars [NT dollars] 42,265 or US dollars 1234) and longer median hospital stay (6.2 days) than the 655 patients who did not require surgery (NT dollars 6290 or US dollars 185 for hospitalization of 2.4 days). CONCLUSIONS: The study found that the incidence of intussusception peaked in the second year of life in Taiwanese children. There was also a male predominance and lack of seasonal variation in incidence.     

Acute pancreatitis combined with acute Budd-Chiari syndrome as the initial manifestation of small cell lung cancer.

Tumor metastasis to the pancreas is a rare but recognized cause of acute pancreatitis. Autopsy series have reported a 24-40% of pancreatic involvement in small cell lung cancer. However, only a very few cases of tumor-induced acute pancreatitis have been described. Budd-Chiari syndrome complicating lung cancer is a rarely reported condition. We report a 68-year-old woman with extensive small cell lung cancer with the unusual initial presentation of both acute pancreatitis and acute Budd-Chiari syndrome. This patient suffered from progressive epigastralgia for 3 weeks. Severe epigastralgia with radiation to back and progressive jaundice developed 2 days prior to admission. After admission, the liver enlarged rapidly and the ascites increased markedly. Chest roentgenogram showed a mass lesion over the left lower lung field. Poorly differentiated carcinoma cells were found in ascites and bone marrow. The patient died on the ninth day of hospitalization before chemotherapy was initiated. Prompt diagnosis of extensive-stage small cell lung cancer may allow early chemotherapy treatment which favorably influences recovery when the pancreatitis is mild. Although prolonged survival might have been expected had this patient recovered from pancreatitis and received chemotherapy, diagnosis was delayed due to difficulty in immunohistochemical diagnosis of the tumor and the unusual clinical presentation. The use of stains employing antibodies against neurofilament and neuron-specific enolase cell antigens is important for early diagnosis of poorly differentiated metastatic tumor cells.     

Matched-unrelated-donor bone marrow transplantation for children with leukemia.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: This report describes the results of matched-unrelated-donor transplant for leukemia or myelodysplasia in the first 23 recipient children at a single medical center in Taiwan. METHODS: Between August 1994 and February 2003, 23 consecutive children with leukemia or myelodysplasia underwent matched-unrelated-donor bone marrow transplantation (BMT). The preparative regimen consisted of fractionated total body irradiation and cyclophosphamide in 6 patients; busulfan in combination with etoposide and cyclophosphamide in 4 patients who received cranial irradiation before transplantation; and busulfan and cyclophosphamide in 13 patients. RESULTS: Engraftment was achieved in 91.3% of cases. Acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) occurred in 18 of 21 patients who engrafted (85.7%). Event-free survival for all patients was 24.46 +/- 9.24%. The 12 children with standard-risk disease had better event-free survival than the 11 children with high-risk disease (46.88 +/- 15.03% vs 0%, p < or = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The major obstacles to successful matched-unrelated-donor BMT are acute GVHD, relapse and infection. Early transplantation and patient selection, prophylactic and therapeutic maneuvers for GVHD, as well as appropriate donor selection and virus prophylaxis may improve the results.