Surgical outcomes in survivors of childhood cancer undergoing thyroidectomy: A single-institution experience.

2022

e29674

2022 Mar 26

1545-5017

<p><strong>BACKGROUND: </strong>Childhood cancer survivors (CCS) are at increased risk for thyroid disease, and many require definitive management with thyroid surgery. Despite this, there is limited evidence on surgical outcomes among CCS. We sought to evaluate postoperative outcomes at our institution among CCS undergoing thyroid surgery compared to patients without a history of primary childhood malignancy.</p>

<p><strong>PROCEDURE: </strong>Medical records were reviewed for 638 patients treated at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Pediatric Thyroid Center between 2009 and 2020. Rates of surgical complications, including recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) paralysis and hypoparathyroidism, among CCS were compared to patients with sporadic/familial thyroid cancer, Graves' disease, and other benign thyroid conditions. Operative time and intraoperative parathyroid hormone levels were also evaluated.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>There were no significant differences in long-term surgical complication rates, such as permanent RLN paralysis and hypoparathyroidism, between CCS and patients without a history of primary childhood malignancy (all p&nbsp;&gt;&nbsp;.05). For all surgical outcomes, there were no significant differences in complication rates when CCS were compared to those undergoing surgery for sporadic/familial thyroid cancer or Graves' disease (all p&nbsp;&gt;&nbsp;.05). CCS with benign final pathology had significantly higher rates of transient hypoparathyroidism compared to patients with benign thyroid conditions (p&nbsp;&lt;&nbsp;.001).</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>Our study suggests that CCS are not at higher risk of long-term complications from thyroid surgery when treated by high-volume surgeons within a multidisciplinary team.</p>

10.1002/pbc.29674

Pediatr Blood Cancer

35338690

Fusion Oncogenes Are Associated With Increased Metastatic Capacity and Persistent Disease in Pediatric Thyroid Cancers.

2022

JCO2101861

2022 Jan 11

1527-7755

<p><strong>PURPOSE: </strong>In 2014, data from a comprehensive multiplatform analysis of 496 adult papillary thyroid cancer samples reported by The Cancer Genome Atlas project suggested that reclassification of thyroid cancer into molecular subtypes, -like and -like, better reflects clinical behavior than sole reliance on pathologic classification. The aim of this study was to categorize the common oncogenic variants in pediatric differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) and investigate whether mutation subtype classification correlated with the risk of metastasis and response to initial therapy in pediatric DTC.</p>

<p><strong>METHODS: </strong>Somatic cancer gene panel analysis was completed on DTC from 131 pediatric patients. DTC were categorized into -mutant (), -mutant ( p.V600E), and / fusion (, , and fusions) to determine differences between subtype classification in regard to pathologic data (American Joint Committee on Cancer TNM) as well as response to therapy 1 year after initial treatment had been completed.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>Mutation-based subtype categories were significant in most variables, including age at diagnosis, metastatic behavior, and the likelihood of remission at 1 year. Patients with / fusions were significantly more likely to have advanced lymph node and distant metastasis and less likely to achieve remission at 1 year than patients within or -mut subgroups.</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSION: </strong>Our data support that genetic subtyping of pediatric DTC more accurately reflects clinical behavior than sole reliance on pathologic classification with patients with / fusions having worse outcomes than those with -mutant disease. Future trials should consider inclusion of molecular subtype into risk stratification.</p>

10.1200/JCO.21.01861

J Clin Oncol

35015563

Beyond the storm - subacute toxicities and late effects in children receiving CAR T cells.

2021

2021 Jan 25

1759-4782

<p>As clinical advances with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells are increasingly described and the potential for extending their therapeutic benefit grows, optimizing the implementation of this therapeutic modality is imperative. The recognition and management of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) marked a milestone in this field; however, beyond the understanding gained in treating CRS, a host of additional toxicities and/or potential late effects of CAR T cell therapy warrant further investigation. A multicentre initiative involving experts in paediatric cell therapy, supportive care and/or study of late effects from cancer and haematopoietic stem cell transplantation was convened to facilitate the comprehensive study of extended CAR&nbsp;T cell-mediated toxicities and establish a framework for new systematic investigations of CAR T cell-related adverse events. Together, this group identified six key focus areas: extended monitoring of neurotoxicity and neurocognitive function, psychosocial considerations, infection and immune reconstitution, other end organ toxicities, evaluation of subsequent neoplasms, and strategies to optimize remission durability. Herein, we present the current understanding, gaps in knowledge and future directions of research addressing these CAR T cell-related outcomes. This systematic framework to study extended toxicities and optimization strategies will facilitate the translation of acquired experience and knowledge for optimal application of CAR T cell therapies.</p>

10.1038/s41571-020-00456-y

Nat Rev Clin Oncol

33495553