Pediatric Oncology | Specialty

The OncLive Pediatric Oncology condition center page is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and expert insights on various types of cancers in pediatric patients, including acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, brain cancers, sarcomas, and more. This page features news articles, interviews in written and video format, and podcasts that focus on unmet needs, treatment advances, and ongoing research in childhood and adolescent and young adult cancers.

Larotrectinib Exceeds 90% Response Rate in TRK+ Pediatric Cancers

April 3rd 2018

Larotrectinib induced an “unprecedented” objective response rate of 93% in patients with TRK fusion–positive solid tumors.

Larotrectinib FDA Submission Completed for TRK Fusion Cancer

March 26th 2018

A rolling new drug application has been completed for larotrectinib (LOXO-101) for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors harboring an NTRK gene fusion.

FDA Approves Nilotinib for Pediatric CML

March 22nd 2018

The FDA has approved nilotinib for the first- and second-line treatment of pediatric patients aged 1 year and older with Philadelphia chromosome–positive chronic myeloid leukemia in the chronic phase.

IKZF1 Deletions Predict Poor Prognosis in Pediatric ALL

March 7th 2018

IKZF1 deletions that co-occurred with deletions in CDKN2A, CDKN2B, PAX5, or PAR1 in the absence of ERG deletion (IKZF1plus) were associated with a dramatically reduced prognosis in pediatric patients with B-cell precursor ALL.

Larotrectinib Update Shows Durable Responses in TRK-positive Cancers

February 22nd 2018

Larotrectinib (LOXO-101) induced durable responses in patients with TRK fusion–positive solid tumors, according to updated results for the novel pan-TRK inhibitor.

Rhabdomyosarcoma Cell Origin Affects Treatment and Survival of Pediatric Patients

February 9th 2018

Mark E. Hatley, MD, discusses the research of endothelial progenitor cells in pediatric patients with rhabdomyosarcoma and how it can lead to thorough analyses of the tumor cells.

Childhood Cancer Increases Likelihood of Unemployment as Adult

February 2nd 2018

One out of 6 survivors of childhood cancer was unemployed, according to results from a meta-analysis of 56 studies conducted in the United States, Canada, Asia, and Europe.

Tisagenlecleucel Responses in Pediatric ALL Sustained With Longer Follow-up

February 1st 2018

At a median follow-up of 13.1 months, tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah) induced an overall remission rate of 81% in children and young adults with relapsed/refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

FDA Puts Clinical Holds on Trials of BPX-501

January 31st 2018

The FDA has halted 4 US studies of BPX-501, a novel cellular immunotherapy for cancers and orphan inherited blood disorders, after 3 patients developed encephalopathy possibly related to treatment with BPX-501.

Change in Treatment Administration May Reduce Osteonecrosis in Pediatric ALL

January 26th 2018

The method of treatment administration in the JACLS ALL-97 and ALL-02 trials may have contributed to a lower incidence of osteonecrosis in Japanese children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Specialized Pediatric Palliative Care Teams Reduce High-Intensity Care at End of Life

January 24th 2018

The presence of a specialized pediatric palliative care team lowered the odds that a child with cancer would be admitted to an intensive care unit at the end of life by five-fold compared with those who did not receive palliative care, according to results from a retrospective study.

Ipilimumab Approved in Europe for Pediatric Melanoma

January 23rd 2018

Ipilimumab has been approved by the European Commission for the treatment of patients aged 12 and older with unresectable or metastatic melanoma.

FDA Grants Tisagenlecleucel Priority Review for DLBCL

January 17th 2018

The FDA has granted a priority review to the CAR T-cell therapy tisagenlecleucel for adult patients with relapsed/refractory DLBCL who are ineligible for or relapse after autologous stem cell transplant.

TP53 Variants Increase Risk for Pediatric ALL, Adverse Treatment Outcomes

January 12th 2018

Children with TP53 pathogenic variants were more likely to both develop acute lymphoblastic leukemia, as well as secondary cancers later on, according to a recent analysis.

Lymph Node/LOH Status Predict Survival in Wilms Tumor

January 3rd 2018

In patients with stage III favorable-histology Wilms tumor, negative nodal involvement and the absence of loss of heterozygosity at chromosomes 1p and 16q were predictors for event-free survival and overall survival.

Dr. Andreadis on CAR T-Cell Therapy for Pediatric ALL

December 29th 2017

Charalambos (Babis) Andreadis, MD, MSCE, associate professor of clinical medicine, Department of Medicine, UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses the role of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy for pediatric patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL).

Larotrectinib Rolling NDA Submission Initiated for TRK+ Cancers

December 20th 2017

Loxo Oncology has initiated a rolling submission of data for a NDA to the FDA for the novel pan-TRK inhibitor larotrectinib (LOXO-101) as a treatment for adult and pediatric patients with TRK fusion-positive advanced solid tumors.

Ipilimumab Approaches EU Approval for Pediatric Melanoma

December 18th 2017

The European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has recommended approval of ipilimumab for the treatment of pediatric patients aged 12 years and older with unresectable or metastatic melanoma.

Triplet Shows Promise in Pediatric Kaposi Sarcoma

December 14th 2017

Investigators working in Malawi found an association between the combination of vincristine, bleomycin, and etoposide and improved quality of life, overall survival, and event-free survival in children with Kaposi sarcoma

Larotrectinib Achieves Over 90% Response in Pediatric Solid Tumors

December 5th 2017

The novel pan-TRK inhibitor larotrectinib (LOXO-101) achieved a 93% response rate in pediatric patients with TRK fusion–positive solid tumors.