Solid tumors: latest on treaments and research pathways

Pour cela, ce petit génie en herbe a élaboré une formule chimique composée d’acide salicylique, d’acide glycolique et de trétinoïne, qui favorise l’activation de cellules indispensables au bon fonctionnement du système immunitaire et à la détection d’agents pathogènes potentiels. Il a ensuite ajouté ce mélange à une nanoparticule à base de lipides afin qu’elle ne se dissolve pas avec la mousse du savon et puisse pénétrer la peau.

Investigators from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital found that proton therapy had efficacy similar to conventional photon therapy with fewer negative neurocognitive outcomes.

Recent research has demonstrated that survivors of childhood cancer are at risk for a myriad of late effects that affect physical and mental quality of life. We discuss the patterns and prevalence of neurocognitive problems commonly experienced by survivors of CNS tumors and acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the two most commonly researched cancer diagnoses.

Despite its higher up-front costs, proton therapy has been shown to be more cost effective than X-ray therapy owing to the dramatic reduction in the excess costs of managing long-term toxicities

Pediatric craniopharyngioma is a rare, benign brain tumor that arises near the pituitary gland and hypothalamus, crucial areas for hormonal regulation and neurological function. Despite being non-cancerous, these tumors can cause significant health issues due to their location, leading to symptoms such as visual disturbances, hormonal imbalances, and cognitive challenges. Typically diagnosed in children aged 5 to 14, craniopharyngiomas require careful management to mitigate their impact on the developing brain and overall health.

This guideline is intended to be a reference document for clinicians presented with the challenge of managing children and young adult patients (CYP) with craniopharyngioma up to the age of 19 years. It addresses the clinical assessment, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of affected patients, informed by information gathered from peer reviewed scientific reports identified through a robust literature search. The expertise and experience of a range of nationally and internationally respected clinicians and scientists whose opinion has been sought as experts bring a clinically meaningful interpretation to these data, in a clear, pragmatic set of management guidelines.

Child health research is at the core of our commitment to deliver the best clinical care for kids. During the research process, our scientists study the genetic, biologic and cellular mechanisms of disease, injury and repair. The discoveries from these studies are then translated into improved diagnostics and treatments, providing cutting-edge therapies to our patients. Armed with new answers to the problems our patients face, we're constantly adapting our bedside protocols to deliver the best care.

This perspective article aims to summarize recent changes and knowledge gains in the field of pediatric CP, outlining updated treatment recommendations, a concept of integrative interdisciplinary care and the implication of novel potential diagnostic tools. A comprehensive update on the multimodal treatment of pediatric CP is presented, focusing on “function-preserving” therapies and their implications.

We conclude that monitoring of growth and weight development including HC can lead to early CP diagnosis and treatment. This might prevent higher grades of hypothalamic involvement and lead to an improvement of quality of life after CP. Further studies on the specific value of HC as a diagnostic marker are warranted.

A single dose of ROBO1-targeted CAR T cells doubled median survival in cell-line-derived xenograft (CDX) models of recurrent GBM. Moreover, in CDX models of adult lung-to-brain metastases and pediatric relapsed medulloblastoma, ROBO1 CAR T cells eradicated tumors in 50–100% of mice. Our study identifies a promising multi-targetable PTP4A–ROBO1 signaling axis that drives tumorigenicity in recurrent GBM, with potential in other malignant brain tumors.

To discover the pathway cancer cells use to infiltrate the brain, researchers used large-scale gene editing technology to compare gene dependencies in glioblastoma when it was initially diagnosed and after it returned following standard treatments. By doing this, researchers discovered a new pathway used for axonal guidance – a signaling axis that helps establish normal brain architecture – that can become overrun by cancer cells.

To stop the invasion of cancer cells, researchers targeted the hijacked signalling pathway using different strategies including a drug developed in John Lazo's group at the University of Virginia, and also by developing a new therapy with help from Kevin Henry and Martin Rossotti at the National Research Council Canada using CAR T cells to target the pathway in the brain. They honed in on a protein called Roundabout Guidance Receptor 1 (ROBO1) that helps guide certain cells, similar to a GPS.

Human cytomegalovirus (hCMV) is part of the Herpesviridae family. It infects nearly half of the French population. Once infected, individuals are generally lifelong carriers of the virus, as is the case with all herpesviruses. The infection is often clinically asymptomatic. Viral transmission occurs through direct contact with the secretions of an infected person (eg, saliva, tears, urine, and feces). The virus can reactivate through occasional flare-ups.

Researchers discovered that inhibiting the protein IL-11 extends the lifespan of mice by up to 25%. The treatment also reduces cancer and diseases related to aging. This breakthrough offers potential for future anti-aging therapies in humans. Further clinical trials are necessary to confirm its safety and effectiveness.

Researchers developed a new method, burst sine wave electroporation (B-SWE), to treat glioblastoma, a fast-growing brain tumor. B-SWE disrupts the blood-brain barrier more effectively than traditional methods, allowing cancer drugs better access to the brain. This technique could enhance treatment by minimizing damage to healthy brain tissue while targeting cancer cells. The study highlights a promising advance in brain cancer therapy.

L’infection se fait durant la prime enfance par des gouttelettes de salive et ne présente le plus souvent aucun symptôme. "Comme les autres herpès virus, le CMV s’installe à vie dans l’organisme et se réactive par poussées occasionnelles", ajoute le chercheur. Cette découverte offre des pistes de traitement contre ce cancer du cerveau actuellement incurable. "Des essais cliniques sont déjà en cours pour voir si l’utilisation d’un antiviral, le ganciclovir, pourrait ralentir la progression de la maladie mais il n’est pas sûr que le virus soit nécessaire à la progression du cancer par la suite". Une solution à plus long terme serait un vaccin contre le CMV. "Il n’existe pas encore mais nous y travaillons". Un tel vaccin chez le jeune enfant permettrait, comme dans le cas du papillomavirus et des cancers du col de l’utérus et oropharyngé, d’éviter un cancer redoutable des décennies plus tard.

Human cytomegalovirus (hCMV) is part of the Herpesviridae family. It infects nearly half of the French population. Once infected, individuals are generally lifelong carriers of the virus, as is the case with all herpesviruses. The infection is often clinically asymptomatic. Viral transmission occurs through direct contact with the secretions of an infected person (eg, saliva, tears, urine, and feces). The virus can reactivate through occasional flare-ups.

Craniopharyngiomas (CP) are rare noncancerous brain tumors located in the skull base. To date, CP remain challenging-to-resect tumors, owing to their difficult location and invasive potential, with profound adverse effects for the patient if left to grow. Indeed, gross total resection may also be accompanied by unwelcome sequalae, underscoring the need for continued investigation. In the present work, we provide a scoping review of current CP management, with emphasis on our knowledge of their genesis, available treatment options, post-intervention clinical outcomes.

Pediatric craniopharyngioma presents and is managed similarly across the globe. However, no studies originating from LICs and resource-poor regions examine presentation and management to date, representing a significant knowledge gap that must be addressed to complete the global picture of pediatric craniopharyngioma burden and management.

Treatment algorithms experienced several changes over the last decades and will be subject to constant optimization. Implementation of experienced interdisciplinary networks generating individual therapeutic strategies is mandatory to avoid or minimize long-term consequences for the patient. Alternative treatments, including intracystic ORI combined with other therapies or even molecular genetic approaches may evolve further and offer more robust opportunities for function preservation in CP patients.

The treatment outcome of children with craniopharyngioma is good, and surgery combined with radiotherapy provides comparable results to gross tumor resection in terms of progression-free survival in the majority of patients. The rate of endocrinopathies in craniopharyngioma survivors is high. Adjuvant irradiation, applied in primary or recurrence treatment, improves disease control. Children who have been treated for craniopharyngioma require close follow-up with radiological and endocrinological assessment.

The available literature on surgical invention for CP suggests that endoscopic endonasal (or transsphenoidal) approaches may provide enhanced visualization and positioning for bimanual resection of challenging tumors, resulting in favorable clinical prognoses compared to conventional transcranial interventions. Brachytherapy and intracystic therapy have enjoyed some attention as alternative, but combined surgery and conventional external beam radiation therapy remain king for most all CP at the time of writing.

People with a rare but devastating type of brain tumor called a papillary craniopharyngioma may soon have an effective new option for treatment, according to results from a small clinical trial.

Although rare, craniopharyngiomas constitute up to 80% of tumours in the hypothalamic–pituitary region in childhood. Despite being benign, the close proximity of these tumours to the visual pathways, hypothalamus, and pituitary gland means that both treatment of the tumour and the tumour itself can cause pronounced long-term neuroendocrine morbidity against a background of high overall survival. To date, the optimal management strategy for these tumours remains undefined, with practice varying between centres. In light of these discrepancies, as part of a national endeavour to create evidence-based and consensus-based guidance for the management of rare paediatric endocrine tumours in the UK, we aimed to develop guidelines, which are presented in this Review.