Background and Aims. Since the war in Ukraine which began on February 2022, many pediatric oncology centers have welcomed patients from Ukraine. To understand the needs of patients and families arriving at our hospital, an anonymous questionnaire investigated the families’ backgrounds, feelings and impressions about hospitality and care. Methods Twenty items investigated how patients had reached Italy, from whom they received help (logistically/economically); emotions regarding their statusas war refugees; knowledge, expectations, and opinions about Italy and Italians; the quality of medical care received and relationships with the healthcare staff; suggestions to improve assistance. Results Questionnaires were completed by 19/32 patient/parents in the time interval May-November 2022 in two different pediatric-oncology centers in the north of Italy. Most families had reached Italy (58%) and received medical care (95%) thanks to the help of Charities and the Italian Public Health Care System. Many of them (69%) declared themselves to be satisfied by the assistance. The Italian population appeared friendly (95%) and generous (58%). The improvement of their stay correlated with the positive outcome of their children (15%), the presence of the whole family (15%), the end of the war (10%), and the overcoming of language barriers (10%) Conclusions. Taking care of children from a different country suffering the traumatic experience of fleeing their country in addition to the equally traumatic condition of cancer disease, is a huge task. Our questionnaire aimed at obtaining a better understanding of families’ conditions, not at bridging the relational gap due to different culture and experiences.

During SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, oncologists manage patients at higher risk of having a severe course of this infection. This raises new questions about their correct management, as well as the difficulty of distinguishing tumor/treatments complications from those related to Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We report a case of an 11 year-old boy undergoing treatment for T cell lymphoblastic lymphoma who experienced a prolonged SARS-CoV-2 infection. Oncological therapy was continued without significant changes compared to the initially planned treatment. No relevant complications occurred. COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CP) was administered, resulting in a positive antibody titer after 24 days.

BACKGROUND: Irinotecan is a drug active against pediatric sarcomas with a toxicity profile that theoretically allows for its association with more myelotoxic drugs. We examined the feasibility of a dose-density strategy integrating irinotecan in standard chemotherapy regimens for patients with high-risk sarcomas. METHODS: Between November 2013 and January 2020, 23 patients < 21 years old with metastatic (11 children) or recurrent (12 children) sarcomas were treated with 9 IrIVA/IrVAC cycles. All newly-diagnosed patients received IrIVA (ifosfamide 3g/m2 on days 1 and 2, vincristine 1.5 mg/m2 on day 1, actinomycin D 1.5 mg/m2 on day 1, irinotecan 20 mg/m2 for 5 consecutive days starting on day 8). Two relapsed patients received IrIVA and 10 IrVAC (cyclophosphamide 1.5 g/m2 on day 1 instead of ifosfamide). Feasibility was assessed in terms of toxicity and time to complete the treatment. RESULTS: 17 rhabdomyosarcomas, 4 Ewing sarcomas, 2 desmoplastic round cell tumors received a total of 181 cycles (range 2-10). Grade 4 neutropenia occurred in 62.4% of the cycles. 13 patients had febrile neutropenia. Diarrhea occurred in 14 cycles. The median time to complete the treatment was 195 days (range 170-231), 83.4% of cycles were administered on time or with a delay <1 week. With a median follow-up of 2.6 years (range 0.2-5.0), 12 patients are alive, 9 complete remissions, 3 with the disease. Conclusions: A dose density strategy combining irinotecan with standard chemotherapy is feasible. This approach will be investigated in the next trial coordinated by the European pediatric Soft tissue sarcoma Study Group.

We analyzed the nationwide hospital discharge records of adolescent inpatients in Italy to map where adolescents with melanoma are treated and identify expert centers. We identified 137 hospitals pointing out a dispersion of these patients that must be addressed to ensure to all adolescents with melanoma adequate treatment and enrolment in clinical studies.