Cytogenetic and molecular analyses have provided pivotal biologic and clinical insights into pediatric neoplasia. It is increasingly evident that genetic assays of various types can provide essential diagnostic or prognostic information about pediatric solid tumors and hematologic malignancies ( Tables…
With the discovery of nitrogen mustard as an anticancer agent in the 1940s, medicinal and hence systemic cancer therapy became a reality. The identification and application of cytotoxic agents dominated the next 60 years of cancer treatment. The success of…
The first scientific reports of childhood cancers such as Virchow glioma (neuroblastoma), Wilms tumor (nephroblastoma), and Ewing sarcoma provided a classification system based on organ involvement but shed little light on the natural causes of these diseases. Subsequent study of…
It is currently estimated that 1% to 10% of children with cancer develop the disease due to an underlying genetic predisposition. Over the last 3 decades, there has been an explosion in knowledge regarding the heritable causes of cancer, including…
The first genome to be sequenced came at a cost of $100 million. Only 13 years later, the price for sequencing an entire genome is nearing $1000 ( Fig. 41-1 ). Rapid increases in the speed and complexity of genomic…
Leukemias of childhood are a highly heterogeneous group of diseases. In reviewing the descriptive and analytic epidemiology of these malignancies, we have, when possible, emphasized specific subgroups as defined by morphologic, cytogenetic, or molecular features. In selected instances, evidence indicates…
“Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution” was Dobzhansky's bold but persuasive claim, and nothing is as natural in biology as natural selection. It has been occurring for approximately 3 billion years whenever heritable traits vary…
Diagnosis and management of hematologic disorders in children in developing countries pose a number of problems that are not encountered in advanced Western societies. Although all the conditions that have been described in this book are seen in these populations,…
* This chapter is modified from the original chapter written by Dr. R. Alan B. Ezekowitz and includes material written by Dr. Samuel E. Lux, IV, with his permission. Evaluation of almost any patient who seeks medical attention, particularly in…
* Revised from a chapter in an earlier edition whose authors included David F. Friedman, Grace Kao, Richard M. Kaufman, and Leslie Silberstein. Transfusion medicine focuses on the administration of blood, blood components, and purified blood proteins to patients for…