scholarly journals Characteristics of Traditional Chinese Medicine Use in Pediatric Cancer Patients: A Nationwide, Retrospective, Taiwanese-Registry, Population-Based Study

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hung-Rong Yen ◽  
Wan-Yu Lai ◽  
Chih-Hsin Muo ◽  
Mao-Feng Sun

Background. Large-scale surveys of complementary traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) use in pediatric cancer patients are lacking. The aim of our study was to investigate the use of TCM in pediatric cancer patients. Methods. We analyzed cancer patients younger than 18 years (n = 12 965) who were registered in the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan between 2001 and 2011. Patients were categorized into TCM or non–TCM users based on their use of TCM. Results. In Taiwan, 8086 (62.4%) children with cancer sought TCM treatment at some point. Children in older age groups, including school-aged children and adolescents, were more likely to use TCM. There was no significant difference in the distributions of gender and urbanization. The 3 most common diseases for which TCM users visited the clinic were neoplasm (33.2%), respiratory system disease (32.9%), and infectious disease (8.86%). The most commonly utilized TCM therapy was Chinese herbal remedies. Patients who had comorbid conditions such as allergic rhinitis, dyspepsia, disorders of menstruation, and disease of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue tended to visit TCM clinics. Conclusions. Adjunctive TCM use is not low in Taiwanese children with cancer. Further studies to investigate the efficacy and safety of TCM in children with cancer are warranted.

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 42
Author(s):  
Perjuangan Dapot Hamonangan Simbolon ◽  
Selvi Nafianti ◽  
Pertin Sianturi ◽  
Bidasari Lubis ◽  
Aznan Lelo

Background Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting are some of the most disturbing side effects in pediatric cancer patients. The standard recommendation is the use of 5-hydroxytryptamine 3 receptor antagonist, such as ondansetron, to treat these symptoms. Despite this treatment, more than 50% of patients still experience nausea and vomiting.Objective To evaluate the effect of the addition of omeprazole to ondansetron in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.Methods A double-blind, randomized, controlled trial was conducted at Haji Adam Malik Hospital, Medan, North Sumatera, from March to May 2016. Subjects were children aged 1 to 18 years, diagnosed with cancer, and who received intravenous chemotherapy. Patients were randomized to receive either a single dose of ondansetron (0.5 mg/kg) plus placebo or ondansetron (0.5 mg/kg) plus omeprazole (0.5 mg/kg). The severity of nausea and vomiting were measured using the Rhodes index of nausea, vomiting, and retching during the 24 hours after initiation of emetogenic chemotherapy. The primary outcome of efficacy was the proportion of patients who achieved complete response (lack of nausea/vomiting). Statistical analysis was performed by Chi-square and Fischer’s exact tests.Results Seventy eligible pediatric patients were randomized into two groups: 32 subjects in the ondansetron + placebo group and 38 others in the ondansetron + omeprazole group. The therapy failed in 50% (16/32) of the ondansetron + placebo group and 18.4% (7/38) of the ondansetron + omeprazole group. There was a significant difference in the clinical response between groups (P=0.01).Conclusion The addition of omeprazole to ondansetron for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting is more effective than administration of ondansetron alone.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1978 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-234
Author(s):  
Stephan Ladisch ◽  
Philip A. Pizzo

Seventy episodes of Staphylococcus aureus sepsis occurring over a nine-year period in pediatric cancer patients are reviewed. Prominent findings at the time of diagnosis included fever, granulocytopenia, and active malignancy. Probable or suspected sites of primary infection were present in 40 episodes (57%). Serious direct complications of staphylococcal sepsis included only three cases of pneumonia and one of myositis. However, second infections by other organisms developed in 16 episodes (24%), resulting in nine nonstaphylococcal infectious deaths during therapy. Endocarditis and osteomyelitis never occurred in this group of patients. The median duration of antistaphylococcal therapy was 15 days.


2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 9565-9565
Author(s):  
John M. Goldberg ◽  
Abdel-Aziz Zidan ◽  
Rabia Siddiqi ◽  
Myriam Zayas ◽  
Camille D. Brown ◽  
...  

9565 Background: Cure rates have reached a plateau for many pediatric solid tumors. Identifying new therapeutic targets, biomarkers of response and prognostic indicators should improve clinical outcomes. Accumulation of myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) is an important mechanism of tumor mediated immune evasion. Increased levels of MDSCs in adult cancer patients correlate with a worse prognosis, and decrease in levels with treatment is associated with benefit. Little is known about MDSCs in childhood, or in children with cancer. This pilot measured levels of MDSCs in pediatric patients with cancer and healthy children. Methods: We enrolled subjects using an Institutional Review Board approved protocol after obtaining informed consent. Blood was obtained from 14 children with newly diagnosed or recurrent solid tumors at start of therapy. In 10 of these patients, levels were also drawn after therapy. Blood was obtained once from 6 healthy children in a primary care office. Samples were obtained concurrently with complete blood counts. MDSCs were measured on fresh whole blood and were defined as Lin-1+/HLADR-/CD 33+/CD11b+/ by flow. Total MDSC numbers were then calculated. Results: The mean total number of MDSCs was 596 cells/ul at diagnosis for the 14 children with cancer and 170 cells/ul for the 6 healthy children (t(18) = 3.02, p = .0073). For the 10 children with cancer who had repeat values measured after treatment, MDSCs decreased in 4 and increased in 6. The mean initial MDSC count for these children was 494 cells/ul, and the mean post treatment count was 1716 cells/ul (t(9) = 1.81, p = .1036). Larger change scores tended to be associated with children treated with alkylator therapy followed by G-CSF. The results for percent MDSC in white cells mirrored those of total number. Conclusions: Circulating MDSCs were higher in pediatric cancer patients than healthy controls. Cancer treatment did not reliably reduce MDSC levels. After some treatments, the levels increased, potentially increasing immune tolerance. Further research is needed to determine if circulating MDSCs are a reliable predictive or prognostic marker in pediatric cancer, and whether they represent a potential target for therapeutic intervention.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleni Syrimi ◽  
Naeem Khan ◽  
Paul Murray ◽  
Carrie Willcox ◽  
Tracey Haigh ◽  
...  

AbstractSystemic immunity plays an important role in cancer immune surveillance and therapy but there is little detailed knowledge about the immune status of healthy children or children with cancer. We performed a high dimensional single cell analysis of systemic immunity in pediatric cancer patients and age-matched healthy children. In young children with cancer (age < 8years) NK cells were decreased in frequency, maturity, expression of perforin and granzyme-B, and were less cytotoxic in ex vivo assays. NK cell activity was restored after in vitro culture with interleukin-2. In contrast, older children with cancer (>8 years old) had decreased naive CD4 and CD8 T-cells with concomitant increases in effector memory and T effector memory RA-revertant (TEMRA) T-cells. These immunological changes in pediatric cancer patients are relevant to the better understanding of how cancers diagnosed in childhood interact with systemic immunity and could inform the development and application of effective immune-modulating therapies in the pediatric population.One Sentence SummaryHigh dimensional analysis of systemic immunity in pediatric cancer patients reveals clinically relevant immune changes in NK and T-cells that vary with patient age.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e18722-e18722
Author(s):  
Xin Hu ◽  
Jordan Gilleland Marchak ◽  
Xu Ji

e18722 Background: Caring for a child diagnosed with cancer may adversely affect mental health (MH) of parents. However, little is known about MH care needs among parents of pediatric cancer patients. This study examined the patterns of MH care for parents of children diagnosed with cancer, as compared to parents of children without cancer. Methods: We used MarketScan® Commercial Database to identify continuously-insured parents of children receiving therapy for leukemia, lymphoma, central nervous system, bone, or gonadal cancers (aged ≤21 years at diagnosis) in 2009-2017. We also identified parents who matched eligibility criteria but had no child with cancer (with a randomly-assigned, fictitious date of cancer diagnosis) as controls. Outcomes included parents’ visits related to a MH disorder (anxiety, depression, substance use disorder [SUD], post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD]) during six months before to 12 months after their child’s cancer diagnosis. Multivariable regressions were estimated to compare MH visits between 9,870 parents of pediatric cancer patients and 3,396,097 parents in the control group, adjusting for sociodemographic factors (parents’ age and sex, rurality, region, number of children in household) and presence of MH history. Among parents of pediatric cancer patients, we explored sociodemographic factors, MH history, and clinical factors (children’s cancer types, age at diagnosis, therapeutic modalities) associated with MH-related visits in multivariable regression analyses. Results: While the likelihood of MH history was similar between the two groups, a higher proportion of parents caring for cancer patients than controls had any visits related to anxiety (13.1%% vs. 9.5%), depression (9.6% vs. 7.5%), PTSD (0.5% vs. 0.4%), or any MH disorders (22.0% vs. 17.6%). These differences persisted in adjusted analyses. For example, parents of cancer patients were 24%, 37%, and 27% ( p-values < 0.001) more likely than controls to have any MH visits, anxiety-related visits, and depression-related visits, respectively. No difference was observed in SUD-related visits. Among MH care utilizers, no significant difference was observed in the number of MH visits. Among parents of cancer patients, those with MH history, mothers (vs. fathers), and parents of children with bone cancer (vs. leukemia) were more likely to have any MH visits ( p-values < 0.05). Parents whose children received surgery only and those with ≥3 children in household were less likely to have any MH visits ( p-values < 0.05). Conclusions: Parents of pediatric cancer patients have significantly higher needs for MH care as compared to the general parent population. Our finding underlines the importance of future interventions toward targeted MH counseling and supportive strategies for vulnerable parent groups, such as mothers and those caring for children undergoing more complex treatment plans.


Children ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 218
Author(s):  
Vassiliki Diakatou ◽  
Tonia Vassilakou

Malnutrition is caused either by cancer itself or by its treatment, and affects the clinical outcome, the quality of life (QOL), and the overall survival (OS) of the patient. However, malnutrition in children with cancer should not be accepted or tolerated as an inevitable procedure at any stage of the disease. A review of the international literature from 2014 to 2019 was performed. Despite the difficulty of accurately assessing the prevalence of malnutrition, poor nutritional status has adverse effects from diagnosis to subsequent survival. Nutritional status (NS) at diagnosis relates to undernutrition, while correlations with clinical outcome are still unclear. Malnutrition adversely affects health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in children with cancer and collective evidence constantly shows poor nutritional quality in childhood cancer survivors (CCSs). Nutritional assessment and early intervention in pediatric cancer patients could minimize the side effects of treatment, improve their survival, and reduce the risk of nutritional morbidity with a positive impact on QOL, in view of the potentially manageable nature of this risk factor.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristoffer von Stedingk ◽  
Karl-Johan Stjernfelt ◽  
Anders Kvist ◽  
Cecilia Wahlström ◽  
Ulf Kristoffersson ◽  
...  

AbstractUp to 10% of pediatric cancer patients harbor pathogenic germline variants in one or more cancer susceptibility genes. A recent study from the US reported pathogenic variants in 22 out of 60 analyzed autosomal dominant cancer susceptibility genes, implicating 8.5% of pediatric cancer patients. Here we aimed to assess the prevalence of germline pathogenic variants in these 22 genes in a population-based Swedish cohort and to compare the results to those described in other populations. We found pathogenic variants in 10 of the 22 genes covering 3.8% of these patients. The prevalence of TP53 mutations was significantly lower than described in previous studies, which can largely be attributed to differences in tumor diagnosis distributions across the three cohorts. Matched family history for relatives allowed assessment of familial cancer incidence, however, no significant difference in cancer incidence was found in families of children carrying pathogenic variants compared to those who did not.


2018 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 42
Author(s):  
Perjuangan Dapot Hamonangan Simbolon ◽  
Selvi Nafianti ◽  
Pertin Sianturi ◽  
Bidasari Lubis ◽  
Aznan Lelo

Background Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting are some of the most disturbing side effects in pediatric cancer patients. The standard recommendation is the use of 5-hydroxytryptamine 3 receptor antagonist, such as ondansetron, to treat these symptoms. Despite this treatment, more than 50% of patients still experience nausea and vomiting.Objective To evaluate the effect of the addition of omeprazole to ondansetron in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.Methods A double-blind, randomized, controlled trial was conducted at Haji Adam Malik Hospital, Medan, North Sumatera, from March to May 2016. Subjects were children aged 1 to 18 years, diagnosed with cancer, and who received intravenous chemotherapy. Patients were randomized to receive either a single dose of ondansetron (0.5 mg/kg) plus placebo or ondansetron (0.5 mg/kg) plus omeprazole (0.5 mg/kg). The severity of nausea and vomiting were measured using the Rhodes index of nausea, vomiting, and retching during the 24 hours after initiation of emetogenic chemotherapy. The primary outcome of efficacy was the proportion of patients who achieved complete response (lack of nausea/vomiting). Statistical analysis was performed by Chi-square and Fischer’s exact tests.Results Seventy eligible pediatric patients were randomized into two groups: 32 subjects in the ondansetron + placebo group and 38 others in the ondansetron + omeprazole group. The therapy failed in 50% (16/32) of the ondansetron + placebo group and 18.4% (7/38) of the ondansetron + omeprazole group. There was a significant difference in the clinical response between groups (P=0.01).Conclusion The addition of omeprazole to ondansetron for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting is more effective than administration of ondansetron alone.


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 153473541882327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shao-Yi Lu ◽  
Jian-Jung Chen ◽  
Jiann-I Pan ◽  
Zi-Xuan Fu ◽  
Jung-Lun Wu ◽  
...  

Background: Cancer patients receiving Western medical treatment, frequently seek Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to alleviate adverse effects and prolong survival. Objective: This study evaluated the association between the use of TCM and cancer survival rate. Research into the effect of TCM on patient survival is limited, this analysis focused on 3 patterns of TCM use. Methods: Three retrospective cohorts with different patterns of TCM use were selected from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan and analyzed. Patients with newly diagnosed cancer between 1997 and 2012 were classified into groups of prediagnosis, postdiagnosis, and continuous TCM use associated with awareness of cancer diagnosis. All demographic and clinical data were analyzed. Results: After propensity score matching, longevity of the postdiagnosis and continuous TCM user was significantly longer than the non-TCM user. The adjusted hazard ratios of death in postdiagnosis and continuous TCM use groups (0.59 and 0.61, respectively) were lower than the non-TCM use group. Conclusion: The analysis suggests that cancer patients using TCM in conjunction with Western medical treatment exhibited a higher survival rate than patients not using TCM treatment.


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