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Background and Objective Inotuzumab ozogamicin is an antibody-drug conjugate approved for treating relapsed/refractory B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL) in adults. Pediatric pharmacokinetic data of inotuzumab ozogamicin are lacking. This study is the first to examine the population pharmacokinetics of inotuzumab ozogamicin in pediatric patients with relapsed/refractory BCP-ALL. Methods From 531 adult patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, 234 adult patients with BCP-ALL, and 53 pediatric patients with BCP-ALL, 8924 inotuzumab ozogamicin serum concentrations were analyzed using non-linear mixed-effects modeling. A published adult inotuzumab ozogamicin population-pharmacokinetic model, a two-compartment model with linear and time-dependent clearance, was adapted to describe the pediatric data. Results Modifications in this analysis, compared to the published adult model, included: (i) re-estimating pharmacokinetic parameters and covariate effects; (ii) modifying covariate representation; and (iii) introducing relevant pediatric covariate effects (age on the decay coefficient of time-dependent clearance and ALL effect (disease type and/or different bioanalytical analysis methods) on initial values of time-dependent clearance). For patients with relapsed/refractory BCP-ALL, increasing age was associated with a decreasing decay coefficient of time-dependent clearance, reflecting that the target-mediated drug clearance declines more rapidly in children. In pediatric BCP-ALL, the median [interquartile range] cumulative area under the concentration–time curve was significantly higher among responders ( n = 42) versus non-responders ( n = 10) at the end of the first cycle (26.1 [18.9–35.0] vs 10.1 [9.19–16.1], × 10 3 ng*h/mL, p < 0.001). From simulations performed at the recommended pediatric phase II dose, inotuzumab ozogamicin exposure reached a similar level as observed in responding pediatric trial participants. Conclusions The pharmacokinetic profile of inotuzumab ozogamicin in pediatric patients with relapsed/refractory BCP-ALL was well described in this study. No dose adjustment is required clinically for pediatric patients with BCP-ALL based on the simulated inotuzumab ozogamicin exposure at the recommended pediatric phase II dose, promising efficacy and acceptable tolerability.

This work’s objective was to evaluate the safety of isavuconazole (ISA) as a treatment or prophylaxis for invasive fungal infections (IFIs) in immunocompromised children. IFI was reported as proven or probable according to international definitions. Therapeutic drug monitoring was performed using mass tandem spectrometry to quantify trough plasma concentrations. Targeted ISA levels were 2–4 mg/L, as reported in adult series. Nine patients received ISA as a curative treatment, and six received ISA as prophylaxis. IFIs were proven in four cases and probable in five. The median ISA trough plasma concentration in curative use was 3.19 mg/L [0.88;5.00], and it was 2.94 mg/L [2.77;3.29] in the prophylactic use. The median durations of treatment were 81 days [15;276] and 95 days [15;253], respectively. Three patients had elevated aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase, and three patients had elevated creatinine serum. The IFI response was satisfactory in all cases at day 90. No side effects were reported. No patients developed an IFI. Our data underline the safety of an ISA 100 mg dosing regimen in children of <30 kg, which we recommend in this fragile population. We suggest that ISA plasma levels are monitored 10 days after ISA initiation and then every two weeks, alongside guided therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) administration.

Data regarding coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) description are still limited in pediatric oncology. The French society of pediatric oncology (SFCE) initiated a study to better describe COVID-19 in patients followed in French pediatric oncology and hematology wards. All patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and followed in a SFCE center were enrolled. Data from medical records were analyzed for all patients enrolled up to the end of May 2020. Data were available for 37 patients. Thirty-one were children under 18 years of age. Nineteen patients were female. Seventeen patients had a solid tumor, 16 had a hematological malignancy and four recently underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for non-oncological conditions. Twenty-eight patients presented symptoms, most often with fever, cough, rhinorrhea and asthenia. Ground-glass opacities were the most frequent radiological finding with abnormalities mostly bilateral and peripherally distributed. Twenty-four patients received chemotherapy a month prior to COVID-19 diagnosis. Most patients did not require hospitalization. Three patients required oxygen at the time of diagnosis. In total, five patients were admitted in an intensive care unit because of COVID-19 and one died from the disease. Children and young adults treated for a cancer and/or with a HSCT may be at risk for severe COVID-19 and should be closely monitored.

ObjectiveTo analyse parents’ and children’s understanding of consent information and assess their decision-making process in paediatric oncology.DesignProspective observational study.SettingsEleven French paediatric oncology units.PatientsParents and children who have been asked to give consent for participation in an early phase trial.InterventionsThirty-seven children and 119 parents were questioned using an audio-recorded semistructured interview.Main outcome measuresThe participants’ understanding of nine elements of the informed consent was assessed by comparing their answers with the informed consent leaflet. Their decision-making process was also evaluated.ResultsMost parents and children had an excellent understanding regarding their participation in a clinical trial (respectively 88.2% and 48.6%), the right to withdraw (76.5% and 43.2%) and the prospects of collective benefits (74.8% and 48.6%). By contrast, less than half of the parents and few of the children correctly understood the alternatives (respectively 47.5% and 27%), the risks related to participation (44.5% and 10.8%), the prospects of individual benefits (33.6% and 10.8%) and the purpose of the clinical trial (12.6% and 2.7%). Twenty-six (70.3%) children participated in the decision-making process. Most parents and children felt they had no choice but to participate in the trial to have access to a new anticancer treatment.ConclusionsWhat might appear to be a poor understanding of the research protocol may actually correspond to the families’ interpretation of the situation as a coping mechanism. All children (except infants) should get age-tailored information in order for them to have a meaningful involvement in research.

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41408-021-00413-7.

Autoimmune haemolytic anaemia commonly has a severe course in young children, thus requiring multiple immunosuppressive treatments. Five children with refractory idiopathic autoimmune haemolytic anaemia, and one child with the disease after bone-marrow transplantation, were treated with rituximab—a monoclonal antibody against CD20. Tolerance of the treatment was good. However, circulating B cells were absent and hypogammaglobulinaemia was seen for 9 months after treatment. All patients remained in complete remission 15–22 months after the start of rituximab therapy. Corticosteroids and immunosuppressive drugs were stopped or their dose markedly reduced. We suggest that rituximab could be a valuable treatment for autoimmune haemolytic anaemia, although a long-lasting but transient B-cell deficiency develops.

It is commonly admitted that the diagnosis of lymphomas can be assessed by the image-guided needle biopsy (IGNB) of deep lymph nodes. However, when peripheral lymph nodes are present, surgical dissection remains the standard strategy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic yield of IGNB of peripheral lymph nodes in patients with suspected lymphomas. The records of 180 multisampling IGNBs of peripheral lymph nodes in 180 patients were reviewed. One hundred and twenty-three IGNBs were observed at first diagnosis and 57 at progression using large-cutting core-biopsy needles ranging between 18 G and 14 G in size. Immunohistochemistry studies were performed in all cases and at least one biopsy was systematically frozen. A diagnosis of lymphoma with sufficient information such that a therapeutic decision could be made was obtained in 146 of the 152 patients with lymphoproliferative disorders (96%). IGNB was equally effective in making the correct diagnosis of lymphoma at the time of original diagnosis than at relapse. The results did not depend on the biopsy site, lymph nodes size, or needle type. We recommend that IGNB may be performed as an initial procedure for the diagnosis of lymphomas either in the presence of peripheral or deep lymph nodes, as it avoids surgery.

-rearranged acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in infants is an aggressive disease with 3-year event-free survival below 40%. Most relapses occur during treatment, with two thirds occurring within 1 year and 90% within 2 years after diagnosis. Outcomes have not improved in recent decades despite intensification of chemotherapy. We studied the safety and efficacy of blinatumomab, a bispecific T-cell engager molecule targeting CD19, in infants with -rearranged ALL. Thirty patients younger than 1 year of age with newly diagnosed -rearranged ALL were given the chemotherapy used in the Interfant-06 trial with the addition of one postinduction course of blinatumomab (15 μg per square meter of body-surface area per day; 28-day continuous infusion). The primary end point was clinically relevant toxic effects, defined as any toxic effect that was possibly or definitely attributable to blinatumomab and resulted in permanent discontinuation of blinatumomab or death. Minimal residual disease (MRD) was measured by polymerase chain reaction. Data on adverse events were collected. Outcome data were compared with historical control data from the Interfant-06 trial. The median follow-up was 26.3 months (range, 3.9 to 48.2). All 30 patients received the full course of blinatumomab. No toxic effects meeting the definition of the primary end point occurred. Ten serious adverse events were reported (fever [4 events], infection [4], hypertension [1], and vomiting [1]). The toxic-effects profile was consistent with that reported in older patients. A total of 28 patients (93%) either were MRD-negative (16 patients) or had low levels of MRD (<5×10 [i.e., <5 leukemic cells per 10,000 normal cells], 12 patients) after the blinatumomab infusion. All the patients who continued chemotherapy became MRD-negative during further treatment. Two-year disease-free survival was 81.6% in our study (95% confidence interval [CI], 60.8 to 92.0), as compared with 49.4% (95% CI, 42.5 to 56.0) in the Interfant-06 trial; the corresponding values for overall survival were 93.3% (95% CI, 75.9 to 98.3) and 65.8% (95% CI, 58.9 to 71.8). Blinatumomab added to Interfant-06 chemotherapy appeared to be safe and had a high level of efficacy in infants with newly diagnosed -rearranged ALL as compared with historical controls from the Interfant-06 trial. (Funded by the Princess Máxima Center Foundation and others; EudraCT number, 2016-004674-17.).