Aldrink, Jennifer H

ABSTRACT Background Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is a critical staging tool in skin and soft tissue cancers. Although technetium lymphoscintigraphy is the most common adjunct, indocyanine green (ICG) demonstrates a promising alternative in pediatric, adolescent, and young adult (AYA) skin and soft tissue cancers. Methods and Objectives Evaluate the safety and efficacy of ICG in SLN biopsy (SLNB) in diverse pediatric and AYA solid cancers in a multi‐institutional environment. This is a prospective, observational study conducted at 13 member institutions in the Pediatric Surgical Oncology Research Collaborative between 2019 and 2023. Eligible patients underwent SLNB for primary or recurrent solid skin and soft tissue tumors. Peritumoral ICG was administered intraoperatively. Outcomes included SLN detection rates, histopathology of excised specimens, and surgeon‐reported assessment of utility. Safety was assessed through adverse event reporting. Results Forty SLNB procedures yielded 84 specimens: 13 melanoma (32.5%), 12 squamous cell carcinoma (30%), 11 non‐rhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcoma (27.5%), two rhabdomyosarcoma (5%), one Ewing sarcoma (2.5%), and one malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (2.5%). Histologic evaluation identified 81 lymph nodes, 75 benign (89.3%) and six malignant (7.1%); three specimens were adipose tissue (3.6%). Of 81 lymph nodes, 76% were ICG‐positive. ICG had a sensitivity of 79.5%, a specificity of 33%, and a positive predictive value of 96%. All malignant nodes were ICG‐avid. There were no adverse reactions to ICG at 30 days. Conclusions ICG is a safe and effective adjunct for SLNB in pediatric and AYA soft tissue and skin malignancies.

ABSTRACT Introduction Children with hepatoblastoma (HB) and other solid tumors frequently undergo intraoperative blood transfusion (IBT) with unknown impact on oncologic outcomes and scant data to guide transfusion in this population. This study tested the hypothesis that IBT is associated with poorer survival in children with HB. Methods A multicenter retrospective observational study of patients aged <18 years with HB who underwent primary tumor resection, including liver transplantation, from 2010 to 2019 was performed at 19 institutions. The association of IBT with risk of recurrence and death were determined using propensity score reweighted (PSR) Cox proportional hazards regression analyses. Results There were 338 patients identified who met inclusion criteria and had sufficient data for inclusion. Of those, 257 (76%) received IBT, including 253 (98%) who received packed red blood cells (pRBC), 84 (33%) who received plasma, and 28 (11%) who received platelets. IBT was associated with higher pretreatment extent of disease ( p < 0.001), presence of annotation factors (+VPEFR: 50%, n = 129 vs. 37%, n = 30, p = 0.035), and complex resections (extended, meso‐, or total hepatectomy: 54%, n = 139 vs. 27%, n = 22, p < 0.001); these differences were mitigated after applying propensity score weighting. Patients who received IBT had greater postoperative hemoglobin (g/dL) (median 10 (I8–11) vs. 9 (8–10), p = 0.013) and required more postoperative plasma and platelet transfusions ( p < 0.05). Median follow‐up was 4.4 (2.0–8.3) years. Compared with non‐IBT patients, those with IBT had higher incidence of death (PSR HR 2.35, 95% CI 1.10–5.02). Recurrence did not significantly differ across groups (PSR HR = 0.82, 95% CI 0.45–1.48). Conclusion IBT was associated with greater hazard of death. Postoperative hemoglobin levels suggested that unnecessary transfusions occurred and a pRBC‐focused approach to IBT led to coagulopathy. Development of optimal transfusion strategies for HB are needed to minimize unnecessary transfusions.

ABSTRACTBackgroundRenal medullary carcinoma (RMC) is an aggressive tumor associated with sickle cell trait. Despite treatment advances for other rare renal tumors, RMC survival remains poor. We aimed to describe the contemporary management and survival of children and adults with RMC.ProcedureIn this multicenter retrospective cohort study, Pediatric Surgical Oncology Research Collaborative sites searched their databases for patients diagnosed with RMC (2000–2022). Descriptive statistics were calculated and survival analyses performed using Kaplan–Meier and Cox regression.ResultsThirty‐four patients with RMC were identified. Median age was 19 years (IQR: 15–28; range: 7–52). Most were male (24/34; 71%), Black (27/32; 84%), had sickle cell trait or disease (30/33; 91%), presented with metastatic disease (27/34; 79%), and were symptomatic at presentation (32/34; 94%). Median overall survival (OS) was 24 months from diagnosis (16 months for children, 28 months for adults, p = 0.6). Receipt of platinum‐based chemotherapy (23/34; 68%) was associated with significantly higher OS than other regimens (35 vs. 5 months, p < 0.001). Nephrectomy (24/34; 71%) was associated with significantly improved OS compared with non‐operative management (34 vs. 7 months, p = 0.001). Immunotherapy, targeted therapy, or radiation therapy were not associated with significant differences in OS, nor were age, sex, race, sickle cell status, SMARCB1/INI‐1, stage, nephrectomy approach, retroperitoneal lymph node dissection, gross residual disease, margins, or tumor size.ConclusionsRMC survival remains poor despite newer therapies. Nephrectomy and platinum‐based chemotherapy should be considered in locally advanced and metastatic disease. Coordinated international cooperative group studies are needed to meaningfully improve RMC survival.

AbstractWith an annual cumulative occurrence of approximately 15,000 in North America, all childhood cancers are rare. Very rare cancers as defined by both the European Cooperative Study Group for Rare Pediatric Cancers and the Children's Oncology Group fall into two principal categories: those so uncommon (fewer than 2 cases/million) that their study is challenging even through cooperative group efforts (e.g., pleuropulmonary blastoma and desmoplastic small round cell tumor) and those that are far more common in adults and therefore rarely studied in children (e.g., thyroid, melanoma, and gastrointestinal stromal tumor). Treatment strategies for these latter tumors are typically based on adult guidelines, although the pediatric variants of these tumors may harbor different genetic signatures and demonstrate different behavior. If melanoma and differentiated thyroid cancer are excluded, other rare cancer types account for only 2% of the cancers in children aged 0 to 14. This article highlights several of the most common rare tumor types.

With an annual cumulative occurrence of approximately 15,000 in North America, all childhood cancers are rare. Very rare cancers as defined by both the European Cooperative Study Group for Rare Pediatric Cancers (EXPeRT) and the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) fall into two principal categories: those so uncommon (fewer than 2 cases/million) that their study is challenging even through cooperative group efforts (e.g. pleuropulmonary blastoma, desmoplastic small round cell tumor) and those that are far more common in adults and therefore rarely studied in children (e.g. thyroid, melanoma, gastrointestinal stromal tumor). [1](#ref-0001) Treatment strategies for these latter tumors are typically based on adult guidelines, although the pediatric variants of these tumors may harbor different genetic signatures and demonstrate different behavior. If melanoma and differentiated thyroid cancer are excluded, other rare cancer types account for only 2% of the cancers in children aged 0 to 14.[1](#ref-0001) This article highlights several of the most common rare tumor types.

Abstract Purpose Our objectives were to compare overall survival (OS) and pulmonary relapse between patients with metastatic Ewing sarcoma (EWS) at diagnosis who achieve rapid complete response (RCR) and those with residual pulmonary nodules after induction chemotherapy (non‐RCR). Patients and methods This retrospective cohort study included children under 20 years with metastatic EWS treated from 2007 to 2020 at 19 institutions in the Pediatric Surgical Oncology Research Collaborative. Chi‐square tests were conducted for differences among groups. Kaplan–Meier curves were generated for OS and pulmonary relapse. Results Among 148 patients with metastatic EWS at diagnosis, 61 (41.2%) achieved RCR. Five‐year OS was 71.2% for patients who achieved RCR, and 50.2% for those without RCR ( p = .04), and in multivariable regression among patients with isolated pulmonary metastases, RCR (hazards ratio [HR] 0.42; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.17–0.99) and whole lung irradiation (WLI) (HR 0.35; 95% CI: 0.16–0.77) were associated with improved survival. Pulmonary relapse occurred in 57 (37%) patients, including 18 (29%) in the RCR and 36 (41%) in the non‐RCR groups ( p = .14). Five‐year pulmonary relapse rates did not significantly differ based on RCR (33.0%) versus non‐RCR (47.0%, p = .13), or WLI (38.8%) versus no WLI (46.0%, p = .32). Discussion Patients with EWS who had isolated pulmonary metastases at diagnosis had improved OS if they achieved RCR and received WLI, despite having no significant differences in rates of pulmonary relapse.

AbstractWilms tumor (WT) is the most common renal malignancy in children. Children with favorable histology WT achieve survival rates of over 90%. Twelve percent of patients present with metastatic disease, most commonly to the lungs. The presence of a pleural effusion at the time of diagnosis of WT may be noted on staging imaging; however, minimal data exist regarding the significance and prognostic importance of this finding. The objectives of our study are to identify the incidence of pleural effusions in patients with WT, and to determine the potential impact on oncologic outcomes. A multi‐institutional retrospective review was performed from January 2009 to December 2019, including children with WT and a pleural effusion on diagnostic imaging treated at Pediatric Surgical Oncology Research Collaborative (PSORC) participating institutions. Of 1259 children with a new WT diagnosis, 94 (7.5%) had a pleural effusion. Patients with a pleural effusion were older than those without (median 4.3 vs 3.5 years; P = .004), and advanced stages were more common (local stage III 85.9% vs 51.9%; P < .0001). Only 14 patients underwent a thoracentesis for fluid evaluation; 3 had cytopathologic evidence of malignant cells. Event‐free and overall survival of all children with WT and pleural effusions was 86.2% and 91.5%, respectively. The rate and significance of malignant cells present in pleural fluid is unknown due to low incidence of cytopathologic analysis in our cohort; therefore, the presence of an effusion does not appear to necessitate a change in therapy. Excellent survival can be expected with current stage‐specific treatment regimens.