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.

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.

Proton Beam Therapy Safe, Effective in Pediatric Head and Neck Malignancies

December 5th 2017

Proton beam therapy in children and young adults with nonhematologic malignancies of the head and neck appeared to be safe and delivered local control rates similar to those seen historically.

Reduced GVHD Prophylaxis Possible in Pediatric Acute Leukemia

December 4th 2017

The risk for graft-vs-host disease is low in children aged 2 to 12 years with acute leukemia, suggesting these patients may be good candidates for reduced preventative measures.

Ipilimumab Effective in Adolescents With Advanced Melanoma

November 30th 2017

Ipilimumab was associated with a 1-year overall survival rate of 75% in adolescent patients with stage III/IV unresectable malignant melanoma.

Palliative Care Opportunities Missed in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology

November 30th 2017

Physicians are missing opportunities to refer pediatric patients with hematologic malignancies to palliative care at the end of life, and those who are admitted to palliative care tend to have very advanced disease.

CD200, CD56 Expression Predict Poor Prognosis in Pediatric B-ALL

November 29th 2017

Children with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia who were positive for CD200 and/or CD56 expression had significantly poorer overall survival and disease-free survival.

Multimodality Treatment Linked to High OS Rate in Pediatric RMS of Head and Neck

November 29th 2017

An adjusted combination of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery induced a 5-year overall survival rate of 91.3% in pediatric patients with rhabdomyosarcomas of the head and neck.

Absolute Risk for Developing Most STS Low in Childhood Cancer Survivors

November 29th 2017

While survivors of childhood cancers are at increased risk for developing soft-tissue sarcomas compared with the general population, the absolute risk for developing STS is low except for leiomyosarcoma after retinoblastoma.

Dr. Young on the Challenges of Using Anticoagulants in Children With Cancer

November 28th 2017

Guy Young, MD, director, Hemostasis and Thrombosis Program, attending physician, Hematology, Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, discusses the challenges of using anticoagulants in children with cancer.

Alternative Treatment Options Emerging for Relapsed Pediatric Patients With ALL

November 27th 2017

Susan R. Rheingold, MD, discusses the impact of CAR T-cell therapy on patients with ALL and options for patients who relapse on treatment.

Nilotinib Approved in Europe for Subset of Pediatric CML

November 21st 2017

The European Commission has approved nilotinib (Tasigna) for the treatment of pediatric patients with Ph+ chronic myeloid leukemia in the chronic phase.