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Assorted news from the last week: A recent student from the Childhood Cancer Survivorship Study that indicates that sixty‐four percent of survivors reported worrying about subsequent malignancy, that 45% reported worrying about physical problems related to cancer, and that 33% reported worrying about relapse. This Journal of Clinical Oncology article addresses neurocognitive late effects in pediatric cancer survivors and explores five broad intervention domains:  compensatory methods, pharmacologic interventions, in-person cognitive remediation, computerized approaches, and physical activity interventions. Treatment with an oncolytic immunovirotherapy alone or with radiation appeared safe and effective in a phase I study of children and adolescents with [...] Read more

Assorted news from the last week: From the American Cancer Society:  Prevalence and predictors of cancer‐related worry and associations with health behaviors in adult survivors of childhood cancer From Children’s Cause:  Rachel McCallum is a long-term survivor diagnosed with Anaplastic Astrocytoma of the 4th ventricle of the brain stem in 1993.  Her experience as a long-term survivor has encouraged her to become an advocate for others like herself who have struggled with the transition from pediatric patient to independent adulthood. Research from St. Jude suggests that the socioeconomics of families is a significant predictor of whether childhood brain tumor survivors […]

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Assorted news from the last week: CNN reporter and recently bereaved dad writes:  the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act 2.0 would take money from pharmaceutical companies that behave badly and use it to pay for desperately needed pediatric disease research. The U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug and Rare Pediatric Disease (RPD) Designations for a radiopharmaceutical for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging, the clinical management of pediatric patients with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG). End-of-Life Care:  A Conversation Recent research tested the efficacy and feasibility of bright light therapy on adolescent cancer survivors. Oncology Nursing [...] Read more

Assorted news from the last week: This week the Honda Classic gold tournament served as the launching off point for the annual Play Yellow campaign — a movement between the PGA Tour, Nicklaus Children’s Healthcare Foundation and Children’s Miracle Hospitals in support of those with childhood cancer. A study published in JAMA Pediatrics found racial and ethnic disparities in childhood and adolescent cancer survival for non-Hispanic black, non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaskan Native, non-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander, and Hispanic patients. Upcoming Webinars and Online Opportunities: ACCELERATE presents Everything you always wanted to know about Developing Drugs for Children with Cancer* (*But were afraid […]

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Assorted news from the last two weeks: NCI commissioned the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Technical Brief to support the development of a research agenda associated with the Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research (STAR) Act. This Technical Brief provides an overview of the existing evidence and forthcoming research relevant to disparities and barriers for pediatric cancer survivorship care, outlines open questions, and offers concrete guidance for future research in a user-friendly format. Survivorship Care Plans are infrequently provided and not uniformly implemented, even among high-risk patients. We could do better. New quarterly publication from Late Effects Surveillance [...] Read more

Assorted news from the last week: The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) has issued guidelines for the management of children with Wilms Tumor, or nephroblastoma. Can children get breast cancer? The Global COVID-19 Observatory and Resource Center for Childhood Cancer was developed, launched, and maintained by the International Society of Pediatric Oncology and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The three components (Resource Library, Global Registry, and Collaboration Space) complement each other, establishing a mechanism to generate and transfer knowledge rapidly throughout the community. Upcoming Webinars and Online Opportunities: ASK Foundation is hosting a FREE virtual conference on March 5th for […]

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Assorted news from the last week: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has developed graphics that provide a visualization of recommendations about the use of dental amalgam (a mercury-containing dental restorative or filling material) in certain groups of people who may be at greater risk for potential harmful health effects of mercury exposure. Celebration!  The Most Cited Paper Award presented by Journal of Pediatric Psychology focused on adolescent and young-adult survivors:  Knowledge of Late Effects Risks and Healthcare Responsibility in Adolescents and Young Adults Treated for Childhood Cancer. Today in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, investigators at Children’s […]

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Assorted news from the last week: In celebration of International Childhood Cancer Awareness Day on February 15, the World Health Organization released a suite of tools to help countries improve diagnosis and treatment of cancer among children. The package includes a “how-to” guide for policy-makers, cancer control programme managers and hospital managers; an assessment tool to inform implementation; and a multilingual online portal for information-sharing. Currently, categorizing clinical trials as ‘negative’ is based solely on the main outcome of the trial without taking into account whether there are other outcomes that could be positive for patients or other reasons for this […]

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Assorted news from the last week: The largest single cell study to date of the childhood cancer, neuroblastoma, has answered important questions about the genesis of the disease. The researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) and the Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, discovered that all neuroblastomas arise from a single type of embryonic cell called sympathoblasts. Health experts say the fear of COVID-19 in the past year has forced people to delay treatment of children undergoing cancer and anti-cancer therapies.  More here. The landscape for pediatric oncology drugs expanded dramatically last year, with 8 […]

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