Modesto Carli

Pediatric Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor: The Italian and German Soft Tissue Sarcoma Cooperative Group

PURPOSE To assess the value of chemotherapy and radiotherapy in children with malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) and to identify risk factors associated with outcome. PATIENTS AND METHODS A total of 167 untreated eligible patients enrolled onto the Italian and German studies between 1975 and 1998 entered this analysis. Seventeen percent of patients had neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). Chemotherapy was administered to 74% of patients; radiotherapy was administered to 38% of patients. RESULTS With a median follow-up of 7 years, 5-year overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were 51% and 37%, respectively. The 5-year OS and PFS by Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study (IRS) groupings were as follows: group I, 82% and 61%; group II, 62% and 37%; group III, 32% and 27%; group IV, 26% and 21%, respectively. Univariate analysis identified IRS groups, size, invasiveness, primary site, age, and presence of NF1 as prognostic factors; multivariate analysis identified absence of NF1, tumor invasiveness T1, IRS groups I to II and extremity of primary site as independent favorable factors for OS. A trend was observed toward a benefit from radiotherapy after initial gross resection. The overall response rate to primary chemotherapy, including minor responses, in group III patients was 45%. CONCLUSION MPNST is an aggressive tumor for which complete surgical resection is the mainstay of successful treatment. Postoperative radiotherapy may have a role in improving local control in patients with minimal residual tumor. The reported responses to primary chemotherapy suggest that it may be effective in patients with tumor considered unresectable at diagnosis.

Spindle cell rhabdomyosarcoma. A prognostically favorable variant of rhabdomyosarcoma.

Twenty-one cases of embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, composed mainly of elongated spindle cells arranged in a fasciculated or storiform pattern, were retrieved from the files of the German-Italian Cooperative Soft Tissue Sarcoma Study. The term spindle cell rhabdomyosarcoma is proposed to designate this histotype. Spindle cell rhabdomyosarcoma predilected male patients (18 males, three females) and involved mostly the paratesticular area (12 cases) and the head and neck region (six cases). Histologically, all cases were characterized by a uniform proliferation of elongated spindle cells with eosinophilic and fibrillar cytoplasm mimicking smooth muscle fibers; im-munocytochemical studies disclosed high expression of the muscle markers titin, desmin, and myoglobin. Clinical information was available in 17 cases; according to the Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study (IRS) grouping system, 13 were classified in group I, two in group II, and two in group III. Sixteen patients were well and alive 24 to 100 months after diagnosis; one patient died from disease progression 24 months after diagnosis. Analysis of our results determined that spindle cell rhabdomyosarcoma constitutes a rare variant of the embryonal form, showing a high degree of skeletal muscle differentiation and a low malignant potential; it should therefore be distinguished from classical forms of embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma.

Treatment of Orbital Rhabdomyosarcoma: Survival and Late Effects of Treatment—Results of an International Workshop

PURPOSE Orbital rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) historically has been associated with an excellent survival rate. The majority of patients are cured with the use of both chemotherapy and radiation therapy, but a significant number experience important late sequelae of treatment. In an attempt to determine optimal therapy in relation both to cure and to sequelae, the experience of the four international collaborative groups (Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study Group [IRSG], International Society of Paediatric Oncology [SIOP] Sarcoma Committee, German Collaborative Soft Tissue Sarcoma Group [CWS], and Italian Cooperative Soft Tissue Sarcoma Group [ICG] studies) was shared at an international workshop. PATIENTS AND METHODS A total of 306 eligible patients were identified from group records (186 from IRS, 43 from SIOP MMT, 40 from CWS, and 37 from ICG). Median age was 6.8 years, and median follow-up was 6.5 years. Eighty percent of patients received radiation therapy (RT) as part of primary therapy, but there were significant differences in the use of RT between the individual groups (93% in IRSG, 76% in ICG, and 70% in CWS, but only 37% in the SIOP MMT group). RESULTS At 10 years, event-free and overall survival for the whole cohort were 77% (range, 71% to 81%) and 87% (range, 82% to 92%), respectively. There was no difference in overall survival between the collaborative groups regardless of differences in the use of initial RT. In total, 34 (12%) of 273 survivors had not received RT, although this varied between the different groups (41% in the SIOP MMT group, 20% in CWS, 7% in ICG, and 6% in IRSG). There was no difference in overall survival for the whole cohort regardless of whether radiotherapy was used as part of initial therapy (86% at 10 years for both). CONCLUSION These data suggest that a subset of patients with orbital RMS can be cured without systematic local therapy, although the total burden of treatment (primary therapy and treatment for relapse) must be taken into account when assessing the implications for late sequelae.

Infantile Fibrosarcoma: Management Based on the European Experience

PURPOSE To retrospectively analyze the clinical features and results of treatment in 56 infants with fibrosarcoma enrolled onto cooperative European protocols between 1979 and 2005 and treated with a combination of surgery and chemotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS We performed a retrospective case review of infants under the age of 2 years with fibrosarcoma treated between 1979 and 2005 in six European studies. Patients were staged according to the Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Staging System international classification as a function of the type of initial surgery and the extent of disease and were treated with surgery and chemotherapy. Survival was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS Primary tumor site was the limbs in 66% of patients; median tumor diameter was more than 5 cm in 63% of patients; and postoperative staging was as follows: group I, 22%; group II, 27%; group III, 47%; and group IV, 4%. Response rate to chemotherapy was 75%, and the specific response rate to vincristine-dactinomycin was 71%. Local control was obtained in 84% of patients. At the end of follow-up, 45% of survivors had been treated by surgery alone, 6% by chemotherapy alone, 46% by surgery and chemotherapy, and 2% by surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. The 5-year overall survival (OS) rate was 89%. The 5-year OS and event-free survival rates for localized patients were 89% and 81%, respectively. CONCLUSION Although complete resection is rarely feasible at diagnosis, conservative surgery remains the mainstay treatment for infantile fibrosarcoma. An alkylating agent-free and anthracycline-free regimen is usually effective and should be chosen as first-line chemotherapy for inoperable tumors. Overall prognosis is good, but progression or relapse, mainly local, remains possible.

Renal Cell Carcinoma in Children: A Clinicopathologic Study

PURPOSE To identify the prognostic factors, treatment, and outcome of children affected by renal cell carcinoma (RCC). PATIENTS AND METHODS The series included 41 patients (18 males and 23 females) with a median age of 124 months observed at the 11 Italian Association for Pediatric Hematology and Oncology centers from January 1973 to January 2001. Clinical data, surgical notes, pathologic findings, and summaries of therapy were taken from the charts. RESULTS Seven (17%) of the 41 patients had a papillary histology, and 34 (82.4%) had nonpapillary histology. Eighteen patients (43.9%) had stage I, one patient (2.4%) had stage II, two patients (4.8%) had stage IIIA, 10 patients (24.3%) had stage IIIB, and nine patients (21.9%) had stage IV disease. One patient had a bilateral involvement at diagnosis. Seven patients experienced disease recurrence. Lung and liver were the most common distant lesions and usually were fatal. In this study, the major factor influencing the prognosis was the stage. Event-free survival at 20 years was 53.5% for all patients. Overall survival at 20 years was 54.9% for all patients. CONCLUSION RCC is a rare disease in children and adolescents. This neoplasm has a different clinical presentation in children compared with adults but the same outcome. In our experience, patients with localized disease could be cured by nephrectomy alone. Prospective studies in a larger number of patients are needed to confirm radiation therapy and biologic response modifiers as effective adjunct therapy in RCC stage III. The alternative therapy seems warranted in patients with advanced disease.

Aggressive fibromatosis in children and adolescents: the Italian experience.

Aggressive fibromatosis (AF) is a rare tumor of intermediate malignancy that has a strong potential for local invasiveness and recurrence. To date, there are no general recommendations for the clinical management of pediatric AF.

Soft-tissue sarcomas in children and adolescents with neurofibromatosis type 1

Patients affected by neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) are at higher risk of developing soft‐tissue sarcomas (STS) than the general population. The clinical findings and outcome in 43 children and adolescents with NF1 treated for STS in the Italian protocols between 1988 and 2004 are reported.

Alveolar soft part sarcoma in children and adolescents: A report from the Soft-Tissue Sarcoma Italian Cooperative Group

BACKGROUND Alveolar soft part sarcoma (ASPS) is a rare malignant tumor and little is known about its clinical features and management. We report on a series of 19 pediatric patients managed over 20 years. PATIENTS AND METHODS Primary conservative surgery was performed in all patients and was radical in nine, non-radical in three; seven patients underwent biopsy alone (3 unresectable tumors, 4 metastatic disease). In two cases radical surgery was performed after primary chemotherapy. Radiotherapy was delivered to 8 patients, chemotherapy to 15. RESULTS After a median follow-up of 74 months, the five-year survival was 80% for the whole series, 91% for patients with localized disease, 100% for patients with tumor < or = 5 cm, and 31% for those > 5 cm; 16 of 19 patients were alive (12 of 12 with grossly-resected tumor in first continuous remission). Chemotherapy achieved two partial remission among seven evaluable patients. CONCLUSIONS Pediatric ASPS has a more favorable prognosis than its adult counterpart. In this series, tumor size correlates with metastatic disease at onset and is the major factor influencing survival. Surgery is the mainstay of therapy. The effectiveness of adjuvant therapy remains to be established, though radiotherapy may be advisable in cases of inadequate surgery.

Veno-occlusive disease of the liver in children treated for Wilms tumor.

INTRODUCTION Hepatotoxicity consistent with the clinical diagnosis of veno-occlusive disease (VOD) of the liver has been suspected after conventional anti-cancer chemotherapy in children. METHODS To establish the incidence of hepatotoxicity and its relationship with VOD, we analyzed toxicity data obtained on 511 children affected by Wilms tumor and treated according to the SIOP-9 protocol. They all received pre- and postnephrectomy chemotherapy using dactinomycin (AD) and vincristine (VCR) +/- other drugs +/- radiotherapy according to surgical stage and histology. RESULTS Sixty-four patients suffered at least one episode of hepatotoxicity and 41 satisfied the criteria for a clinical diagnosis of VOD. In this latter group, toxicity occurred during preoperative treatment in 15 patients and was confirmed histopathologically in 9 of the 16 liver biopsies obtained. There was a higher percentage of children aged less than 1 year at diagnosis in the VOD group than in the other patients (24% vs. 11.4%). The degree of liver damage in the younger patients seems important, as suggested by a higher increase in transaminases. VOD developed in 12% of the 68 irradiated children vs. 7% in the non-irradiated group. Statistical analysis showed an increased risk of VOD in younger patients (p < 0.001) and in those receiving radiotherapy (p < 0.001). All patients recovered after 6-180 days using supportive therapy only. CONCLUSIONS (1) 8% of children treated according to the SIOP-9 protocol, developed hepatotoxicity consistent with VOD. Excluding patients who received radiotherapy, the incidence was 6%. These figures are much higher than in earlier reports, though different diagnostic criteria were used. (2) Chemotherapy with AD and VCR seems to be a major cause of VOD. (3) Risk factors are young age and concomitant radiotherapy. (4) VOD does not prejudice positive outcome for these patients.

Nonmetastatic Ewing family tumors: high-dose chemotherapy with stem cell rescue in poor responder patients. Results of the Italian Sarcoma Group/Scandinavian Sarcoma Group III protocol

BACKGROUND High-dose chemotherapy (HDT) was added to conventional chemotherapy in Ewing sarcoma family tumor (EFT) patients, poor responders (PRs) to induction chemotherapy in order to improve their survival. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients aged ≤40 years with nonmetastatic Ewing sarcoma (ES) received vincristine (V), doxorubicin (A), cyclofosfamide (C), actinomycin (Ac), ifosfamide (I) and etoposide (E) (VACAc-IE regimen) as induction chemotherapy. As maintenance treatment, good responders (GR) received nine cycles of VACAc-IE regimen. PRs received three cycles of VAC-IE, mobilizing cycle with CE and HDT with Busulfan and Melphalan with stem cell support. RESULTS Three hundred patients [median age 15 years (3-40 years)] entered the study. One patient refused local treatment, 242 (81%) underwent surgery [with radiotherapy (RT) in 80] and 57 (19%) RT alone. No toxic deaths were recorded. Overall GR were 146 (49%). Twenty-eight PR did not receive HDT. At a median follow-up of 64 months (21-116 months), 5-year overall and event-free survival (EFS) were 75% and 69%, respectively. Five-year EFS was 75% for GR, 72% for PR treated with HDT and 33% for PR who did not receive HDT. CONCLUSIONS High-dose therapy added to the VACA-IE regimen in PR patients is feasible and effective. Selected groups of patients with ES can benefit from HDT.