Pediatric cancer

Cisplatin is one chemotherapeutic agent used to treat childhood cancer in numerous treatment protocols, including as a single agent. It is likely to remain in clinical use over the long term. However, cisplatin-related toxicities, including neurotoxicity and nephrotoxicity, are common, affecting treatment, day-to-day life and survival of such children. With one in 700 young adults having survived childhood cancer, patients who have completed chemotherapy that includes cisplatin can experience long-term morbidity due to treatment-related adverse reactions...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The ideal measures for screening and assessing undernutrition in children remain a point of discussion in literature. This review aims to provide an overview of recent advances in the nutritional screening and assessment methods in children. RECENT FINDINGS: This review focuses on two major topics that emerged in literature since 2015: the practical endorsement of the new definition for pediatric undernutrition, with a focus on anthropometric measurements and the search for a consensus on pediatric nutritional screening tools in different settings...

BACKGROUND: Several malnutrition screening tools have been advocated for use in pediatric inpatients. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated how 3 popular pediatric nutrition screening tools [i.e., the Pediatric Yorkhill Malnutrition Score (PYMS), the Screening Tool for the Assessment of Malnutrition in Pediatrics (STAMP), and the Screening Tool for Risk of Impaired Nutritional Status and Growth (STRONGKIDS)] compared with and were related to anthropometric measures, body composition, and clinical variables in patients who were admitted to tertiary hospitals across Europe...

Cancer patients are particularly susceptible to nutritional depletion. From March 2014 to December 2015, we assessed 146 patients consecutively hospitalized in a tertiary emergency pediatric hospital. The patients were divided into 2 groups: group I, patients with cancer (43 patients), and group II, the control group consisting of 103 age-matched and sex-matched healthy patients. The anthropometric parameters (weight-W, height-H, body mass index [BMI], middle upper arm circumference [MUAC], tricipital skinfold thickness [TST]) and biochemical parameters (proteins, albumin) were comparatively evaluated...

Cancer Related Fatigue (CRF) is known as one of the strongest and incriminating side effects of cancer for adults and children. By now there is a lack of valid assessments and sufficient therapy in pediatric oncology. For children it is a tough challenge to accept this overwhelming tiredness and lower activity level in their daily life routines. First positive effects in CFR therapy were found by adults, but this specific scientific field is very young and therefore mostly unexplored. 4 databases for medical and therapeutic journals were systematically searched for RCTs, CCTs and CTs...

The utilization of adapted regimens for the treatment of pediatric malignancies has greatly improved clinical outcomes for children receiving treatment in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Nutritional depletion has been associated with poorer outcomes, increased abandonment of therapy, and treatment-related toxicities. Surveys have found that nutritional intervention is not incorporated routinely into supportive care regimens. Establishing nutritional programs based upon institutional resources may facilitate the incorporation of nutritional therapy into clinical care in a way that is feasible in all settings...

It is clear that cancer patients develop complex nutrition issues. Nutrition support may or may not be indicated in these patients depending on individual patient characteristics. This review article, the first in a series of articles to examine the A.S.P.E.N. Guidelines for the Use of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition in Adult and Pediatric Patients Cancer Guidelines, evaluates the evidence related to the use of nutrition screening and nutrition assessment in cancer patients. This first article will provide background concerning nutrition issues in cancer patients as well as discuss the role of nutrition screening and nutrition assessment in the care of cancer patients...

BACKGROUND: Advances in multidisciplinary care for pediatric cancer have resulted in significant improvement in cure rates over the last decades; however, these advances have not been uniform across all age groups. Cancer is an important cause of perinatal mortality, yet the full spectrum of malignant neoplasms in newborns is not well defined. METHODS: The authors have reviewed the clinical features and outcomes of 37 newborns with congenital malignant tumors treated at three referral centers in North, Central, and South Poland between 1980 and 2014...

Fever and neutropenia (FN) is a common precipitant for hospitalization among children with cancer, but hospital utilization trends are not well described. This study describes national trends for hospital discharges for FN among children with cancer for the year 2012, compared with the authors' previous analysis from 2009. Data were analyzed from the Kids' Inpatient Database (KID), an all-payer US hospital database, for 2012. Pediatric patients with cancer who had a discharge for FN were identified using age ≤19 years, urgent or emergent admit type, nontransferred, and a combination of International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes for fever and neutropenia...

BACKGROUND: Survivors of childhood cancer are at increased risk for several cardiometabolic complications. Obesity/overweight and metabolic syndrome have been widely reported in Western literature, but data from India are lacking. AIMS: To perform an objective assessment of nutritional status in a cohort of childhood cancer survivors (CCSs) and to find risk factors for extremes in nutritional status. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: The study was a retrospective chart review of CCSs who attended the late effects clinic of a referral pediatric oncology center over the period of 1 year...

BACKGROUND: Survivors of childhood cancer are at increased risk for several cardiometabolic complications. Obesity/overweight and metabolic syndrome have been widely reported in Western literature, but data from India are lacking. AIMS: To perform an objective assessment of nutritional status in a cohort of childhood cancer survivors (CCSs) and to find risk factors for extremes in nutritional status. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: The study was a retrospective chart review of CCSs who attended the late effects clinic of a referral pediatric oncology center over the period of 1 year...

BACKGROUND: Malnutrition is widely prevalent in the pediatric population in India. There is paucity of data on the prevalence of malnutrition in pediatric cancer patients and the impact of cancer treatment on nutritional status of Indian children. AIMS: The study was conducted to look at the prevalence of malnutrition and assess the impact of treatment on nutritional status of pediatric cancer patients. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This was a retrospective study...

BACKGROUND: Assessing nutritional status and delivering optimal nutritional care is a part of modern day treatment of children with cancer. The nutritional practices in India for these children have not been previously described. AIMS: To describe the existing nutrition assessment and management practices for children with cancer in India. METHODS: Attendees of the First International Society of Pediatric Oncology-Pediatric Oncology in Developing Countries workshop on nutrition in children with cancer organized in September 2014 at Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, India were invited to complete a self-administered questionnaire related to three domains: nutritional assessment, intervention, and education...

Nutritional status in children with cancer is an important prognostic factor. Assessment consisting of anthropometry, biochemistry, clinical, and diet that needs to be done on diagnosis and regularly to ensure that patient's nutritional status does not deteriorate. In developing countries, assessment will depend on the availability of all resources, but monitoring is essential. The development of malnutrition during treatment is possible and the reasons are multifactorial. Nutrition plays a deciding role and a key factor in children with cancer and can influence their outcome...

Although nutritional therapy is essential for the treatment of childhood cancer, it remains a challenge, especially within the developing world, where there are many barriers to optimizing treatment. The oral route is the first approach to nutritional support, however challenging this might be in children with cancer. Oral supplements are indicated in moderate evaluated nutritional risk patients and its use should consider the family's social conditions and access to industrialized oral supplements. If unavailable, homemade oral supplements can be used respecting regional accessibility, local foods, and culture...

A nutritional perspective within pediatric oncology is usually just related to the supportive care aspect during the management of the underlying malignancy. However, nutrition has a far more fundamental importance with respect to a growing, developing child who has cancer as well as viewing cancer from a nutritional cancer control perspective. Nutrition is relevant to all components of cancer control including prevention, epidemiology, biology, treatment, supportive care, rehabilitation, and survivorship. This article briefly describes this perspective of nutrition within a cancer control context and is a summary of the presentation at the "1st International SIOP-PODC Workshop on Nutrition in Children with Cancer" held in Mumbai...

Children are at greater risk for malnutrition due to increased needs of nutrients to obtain appropriate growth, and they exhibit elevated substrate needs due to cancer and its treatment. This study aimed to report anthropometric and biochemical evaluation of nutritional status in children with cancer at initial presentation and during treatment. A prospective, controlled study was performed in the pediatric oncology department of a tertiary care center. Control group consisted of the siblings of patients. Weight, height, body mass index, triceps skinfold thickness, and serum levels of total protein, albumin, prealbumin, serum lipids, trace minerals, C-reactive protein (CRP), and vitamins were compared in patients and controls at initial presentation and at 6th month after the onset of treatment...

CONTEXT: Malnutrition in pediatric cancer is common worldwide, yet its prevalence and effects on clinical outcomes remain unclear. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this review was to evaluate primary research reporting the prevalence of malnutrition in pediatric cancer patients and to assess the effects of pediatric cancer and its treatment on nutritional status. DATA SOURCES: Electronic databases of MEDLINE, CINHAL, and PubMed were searched (January 1990-February 2013)...

Mucositis is a complex inflammatory reaction of the mucous membranes of the alimentary tract upon chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment in oncology patients. Mucositis can be subdivided in oral and gastrointestinal mucositis (GI mucositis). The damage to the gastrointestinal tract compromises the intestinal function and thereby the nutritional status and the quality of life, and eventually affects survival. The literature on GI mucositis focuses mainly on adults. This review focuses on data available on GI mucositis in pediatric cancer patients...

In children with cancer, suboptimal nutrition states are common consequences of the disease and its treatment. These nutrition states have been attributed to a number of etiologies dependent on the patient's tumor type and treatment, and are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Interventions vary from psychosocial to pharmacological and surgical management. Further research is necessary to understand the epidemiology and etiology of these nutrition states. Of great importance is the development and implementation of effective interventions to optimize nutritional status among children with cancer during and after therapy...