Zusammenfassung der Ressource
malignant disease in children
- not common
- 1 child in 500
develops Ca by 15
years old
- 120-140 new cases
per 10^6 kids under
15 years in Western
countries
- types of disease seen
- 1. leukaemia
- commonest
- affects kids of all
ages (but there's
an early childhood
peak)
- 2. brain & spinal tumours
- 3. neuroblastoma
- almost always
seen in 1st 6
years of life
- 4. soft tissue sarcomas
- 5. Wilms tumour
- almost always seen in 1st 6 years of life
- 6. (Hodkin lymphoma &)
bone tumours
- peak incidence in
teen & early adult
life
- 7. retinoblastoma
- still commonest
disease causing death
in childhood beyond
neonatal period
- 5 year survival of kids w/ all forms of Ca
- about 75%
- but long term medical & psychosocial difficulties
- aetiology
- precise
aetiology is
unclear in most
cases
- likely to involve
interaction btw env
factors & host
genetic
susceptibility
- few established
env risk factors
- in most cases a specific mutation isn't known
- even though Ca occurs due to sporadic but
possibly heritable mutations in cellular growth &
controlling genes
- bilat retinoblastoma
- e.g. of inherited Ca
- assoc w/ mutation within RB gene on chromosome 13
- lots of syndromes assoc
w/ increased risk of Ca in
childhood
- assoc btw Down syn & leukaemia
- neurofibromatosis & glioma
- clinical presentation
- localised
mass
- conseqs of
disseminated
disease
- bone marrow infiltration
- causing
systemic
ill health
- conseqs of Pa from a
mass on local strucs or
tissues
- e.g. airway obstruction
2ndary to enlarged lymph
nodes in the mediastinum
- Ix
- radiology
- combo
of US,
plain X
ray, CT
& MRI
- to locate
solid
tumours & ID
& localise
evidence of
mets
- nuclear medicine
- e.g.
radiolabelled
technetium
bone scan
- ID bone or bone marrow disease
- using special markers (MIBG)
- localise tumours of neural crest origin e.g. neuroblastoma
- tumour marker studies
- increased urinary
catecholamine excretion
(e.g. vanillylmandelic
acid)
- useful to confirm diag of neuroblastoma
- high alpha-fetoprotein
- often seen in germ
cell tumours & liver
tumours
- levels used to
monitor Rx &
response
- pathology
- all diags
need
histological
confirmation
- bone
marrow
aspiration
- for leukaemia
- biopsy
- for most solid tumours
- but not always
possible for brain
tumours
- immunohistochemistry
- to
differentiate
tumour
types
- molecular & genetic
techniques
- used to confirm diag
- e.g.
translocation of
chromosomes
11 & 22 in
Ewing sarcoma
- used to predict diagnosis
- e.g. amplification
of N-myc
oncogene assoc
w/ poor prognosis
in neuroblastoma
- Mx
- detailed ix to
define extent of
disease
(staging) vital to
Rx
- kids treated as part of
collaborative studies that
are consistent in care &
have helped improve
outcomes
- initial ix &
Rx in
specialist
centres
- w/ MDTs to give
intensive medical &
psychosocial support
needed
- subsequent mx shared btw specialist centre, referral hospital & local services in community
- teens & young adults
- have
poorer
survival
outcomes
than kids
- related to specific types
& biological behaviour of
their tumours
- are their own
distinct
population
- related to the particular
social/psychological
needs
- -> development of age-approp Rx protocols, facilities & support networks
- Rx
- chemotherapy
- uses
- as primary curative Rx e.g. in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia
- to control primary or metastatic disease before local
Rx w/ surgery &/or radiotherapy e.g. sarcoma or
neuroblastoma
- as adjuvant Rx to deal w/ residual
disease & get rid of presumed
micromets e.g. after initial local
surgery in Wilms tumour
- radiotherapy
- still has role in Rx of some tumours
- risk of damage to growth & function greater in kid than adult
- need adeq
protection of
normal tissues &
careful positioning
& mobilisation of
pt during Rx
- can be hard in practice
- surgery
- initial surgery often restricted to biopsy to get diag
- more extensive ops usually done to remove residual tumour
after chemo &/or radiotherapy
- high-dose therapy w/ bone marrow rescue
- limitation of chemo & radiotherapy is risk of irreversible damage to normal tissues, esp bone marrow
- bone marrow stem cell transplantation can be
used to intensify Rx of pts w/ admin of potentially
lethal doses of chemo &/or radiation
- source of
marrow
stem cells
- allogeneic
- from a compatible donor
- used in mx of high risk or relapsed leukaemia
- autologous
- from pt himself, harvested beforehand,
while marrow uninvolved or in remission
- Rx of solid tumours w/ poor prognosis using conventional
chemo e.g. advanced neuroblastoma
- supportive care &
(short- term) S/Es of Rx
- bone marrow suppression
- anaemia
- may need blood transfusions
- thrombocytopenia
& bleeding
- blood product support needed
- esp for kids
- w/ leukaemia
- undergoing intensive
therapy needing bone marrow
transplantation
- under Rx with more
intensive solid tumour
protocols
- neutropenia
- -> infection
- immunosuppression
- infection
- due to Rx & underlying
disease kids w/ Ca are
immunocompromised & @
risk of serious infection
- kids w/ fever & neutropenia
- admit promptly to hospital for
cultures & broad spec Abx
- opportunistic infections assoc w/ Ca
- Pneumocystis jiroveci (carinii) pneumonia
- esp in kids w/ leukaemia
- disseminated fungal infection
- aspergillosis
- candidiasis
- coag -ve staph infections of central venous catheters
- viral
- most no worse than in kids w/o Ca
- attn to measles & chicken pox
- atypical
presentation &
life-threatening
- if non-immune,
immunocomp kids @ risk
from contact w/ these
viruses
- give Ig or zoster immune
globulin promptly for some
protection
- Rx
- aciclovir for
established
varicella infection
- none
available
for measles
- use of live vaccines
- contraindicated
during chemo &
from 6 months-1
year afterward
- after this re-immunisation against common childhood infections recommended
- GI mucosal damage,
nausea & vomiting,
anorexia
- ->undernutrition
- gut mucosal
damage from
chemo ->
- diarrhoea
- G-ve infection
- mouth ulcers
- oommon
- painful
- if severe, can stop child eating enough
- many chemo
agents
nauseating &
induce
vomiting
- partially prevented by routine use of antiemetic
- drug-specific S/Es
- doxorubicin
- cardiotoxicity
- cyclophosphamide
- haemorrhagic cystitis
- vincristine
- neuropathy
- extent of S/Es not always predictable
- monitoring needed during &
sometimes after Rx done
- other supportive care issues
- venous access
- central venous catheters
- avoid
discomfort of
multiple
venepunctures
- risk of infection
- fertility preservation
- risk of
infertility due
to Ca Rx in
some pts
- surgical removal of testis or ovary
out of radiotherapy field
- sperm banking
- boys need to mature enough to achieve this
- preservation of
ovarian cortical
tissue
- uncertain long term efficiency
- psychosocial
support
- counselling
- practical support
- transport
- finances
- accommodation
- care of siblings
- give
detailed
written
material
to parents
- encourage return to
normal life once Rx
established
- early return to school
- severe stress->
marital probs &
behavioural
difficulties in
child & siblings