1 What is the differential diagnosis of a child with an abdominal mass? The most likely diagnoses in a child with an abdominal mass are neuroblastoma and Wilms tumor or nephroblastoma. Clinically, children with advanced stage neuroblastoma appear ill, often…
1 What is the differential diagnosis of a liver mass in a child? Liver tumors in children are rare but mostly malignant. Differential diagnosis varies by age. In infants and toddlers, the most common malignant liver mass is hepatoblastoma (HB;…
1 What is neuroblastoma? Neuroblastoma is the most common extracranial malignant tumor of infants and children. It originates from neural crest cells that normally give rise to the adrenal gland and the sympathetic nervous system. It can have widely varying…
1 What are the most common malignant bone tumors in children, adolescents, and young adults? Malignant bone tumors account for 6% of all childhood malignancies. Osteosarcoma (OS) represents 56% of new malignant bone tumor diagnosis, followed by Ewing sarcoma (ES)…
1 What is a soft tissue sarcoma? Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) are a diverse group of malignant tumors believed to originate from developing mesenchyme, which normally give rise to components of connective tissue (muscle, bone, fat, cartilage, blood vessels). The…
1 What is the chromosomal abnormality associated with chronic myeloid leukemia? The Philadelphia chromosome—or t(9;22)(q34.1;q11.2) resulting in a BCR-ABL1 fusion gene—is the hallmark of 90% to 95% of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cases. The remaining cases consist of variant and…
1 Discuss the incidence of acute myeloid leukemia in children in the United States. There are 500 to 600 new cases of pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML) diagnosed annually in the United States and approximately 10,000 cases diagnosed each year…
1 Describe the frequency of acute lymphoblastic leukemia of childhood. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common malignancy in children, accounting for one-fourth of all childhood cancers and 72% of all childhood leukemia. The annual incidence rate is 3…
1 What are the surgical guidelines for the treatment of neuroblastoma? How does stage affect operative management decisions? Surgical goals include establishing a definitive diagnosis, accurate staging, and gross total resection, if possible. For stage I to II disease, upfront…
1 How does the epidemiology of childhood cancer vary in different geographic regions of the world? Variation in the epidemiology of childhood cancer worldwide is largely influenced by the impact of infection-associated malignancies ( Figure 28.1 ). Although acute lymphoblastic…