Successful Treatment of Disseminated Fusariosis in a 15-Month-old Boy With Refractory Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Using High-dose Voriconazole.

Background: Infections due to rare molds, such as Fusarium spp., cause severe and difficult-to-control diseases with increasing frequency. Data on fusariosis in children and on the use of voriconazole (VCZ), considered a drug of choice, are scarce in infants and children <2 years of age.

Diagnostic Capacity for Invasive Fungal Infections in the Greek Paediatric Haematology-Oncology Units: Report from the Infection Working Group of the Hellenic Society of Paediatric Haematology-Oncology.

An audit based on a specific questionnaire was attempted, in order to investigate the mycology laboratory diagnostic capacity for invasive fungal diseases (IFDs) in Greek Paediatric Haematology-Oncology departments/units. The study provided the relevant information for the years 2019 and 2020 and included data from all units, concerning culture-based methods and direct microscopy, phenotypic and molecular identification, sensitivity testing, serology and molecular diagnosis, as well as therapeutic drug monitoring. The target was mostly to reveal the level of laboratory coverage for hospitalised paediatric patients, independently of the possibility of performing the tests in the host hospital, or otherwise to refer the specimens elsewhere.

Candidemia in Children with Malignancies: Report from the Infection Working Group of the Hellenic Society of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology.

Candidemia is an important cause of morbidity and mortality especially in immunocompromised and hospitalized patients. We retrospectively collected data of candidemia cases that occurred in the seven Hematology-Oncology Departments/Units of Greece and the Stem Cell Transplant Unit between 2015 and 2019. In total, 19 episodes of candidemia in 19 patients were recorded.

Invasive Mucormycosis in Children With Malignancies: Report From the Infection Working Group of the Hellenic Society of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology.

Mucormycosis is an invasive, life-threatening fungal infection that mainly affects immunocompromised hosts. We collected data of pediatric mucormycosis cases from all 7 Greek Hematology-Oncology Departments for the years 2008-2017. Six cases of invasive mucormycosis diagnosed during treatment for malignancies were included in the study.

Bone Marrow Failure in Fanconi Anemia: Clinical and Genetic Spectrum in a Cohort of 20 Pediatric Patients.

Prognostic refinement in Fanconi anemia (FA) is needed, especially when considering allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT). We studied 20 children with FA and bone marrow failure from a single center. According to Hôpital Saint-Louis risk classification for FA, patients were classified in stage A (no or mild cytopenia/dysplasia), B (single non-high-risk cytogenetic abnormality), C (severe cytopenia and/or significant dysplasia and/or high-risk cytogenetic abnormality), and D (myelodysplastic syndrome with excess of blasts/acute myeloid leukemia) in 4, 2, 13, and 0 cases, respectively.

Wilms tumour event-free and overall survival in Southern and Eastern Europe: Pooled analyses of clinical data from four childhood cancer registries (1999-2017).

Background: Wilms tumour (WT) management represents a success story in pediatric oncology. We aimed to assess, for the first time, the event-free survival (EFS) vs. overall survival (OS) in Southern and Eastern Europe (SEE) using harmonised clinical data collected by childhood cancer registries and to identify respective prognostic factors.