Introduction and overview to issue on new developments in pediatric hematology/oncology

摘要

Cancer is the most common cause of death from illness in children. The incidence rate for cancer among children and adolescents in the United States increased at a rate of 0.6% annual percentage change during the period of 1975-2006, particularly for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and central nervous system (CNS) tumors. Importantly, mortality rates for all pediatric cancers decreased by more than 50% during the same period, although the improvements did not occur equally between all tumors. Reports from the past year show that the 5-year survival rate for children and adolescents enrolled in Children's Oncology Group ALL clinical trials, which enroll about 70% of predicted United States ALL cases that occur among persons 0-19.99 years old, increased from 83.7% for those enrolled in 1990-1994 to 90.3% for those enrolled in 2000-2005 and 92.3% for 2006-2009. In parallel, there has been an explosion of knowledge concerning the genetic landscape of childhood cancers over the past several years that should ultimately lead to new therapies that are both more effective and less toxic. Major advances have also occurred in knowledge and treatment of the nonmalignant hematological disorders of childhood. Against this backdrop, this issue of Current Opinion in Pediatrics presents detailed reviews of new developments and the current state of knowledge and clinical practice in four important areas.