PURPOSE: Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a disorder characterized by the proliferation of activated Langerhans cells. Although current therapies are very effective at inducing remission, multiple recurrences and long-term sequelae are common for young patients. For this reason, more effective therapies based on the pathogenesis of LCH are needed. We investigated the use of 2-chlorodeoxyadenosine (2-CdA), a purine analogue with an antiproliferative effect on histiocytes and lymphocytes, in patients with recurrent or refractory LCH. METHODS: Four children with recurrent or refractory LCH received 2-CdA (5~7 mg/m2/day for 5 days, given as a 24-hr continuous infusion and repeated every 21~28 days for 5~7 courses). RESULTS: All four patients had multiorgan involvement, and were heavily pretreated. Of the two children with recurrent diseases, one had complete response and the other showed no active disease except for the remaining diabetes insipidus. Two infants who showed poor early response to previous combination chemotherapy also responded poorly: partial response in one, and progressive disease resulting in death in the other. Toxicity consisted mainly of myelosuppression, but significant infections did not occur. The peripheral neuropathy was not seen. CONCLUSION: 2-CdA, tolerable in children without significant side effects, might be effective for the treatment of recurrent LCH in children. However, the efficacy in infants with multi-system, refractory diseases needs further study. The feasibility of 2-CdA treatment as the first-line therapy for high-risk diseases, and the possibility of combination with other agents needs to be addressed in the future.
Child* ; Cladribine* ; Diabetes Insipidus ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Histiocytes ; Histiocytosis, Langerhans-Cell* ; Humans ; Infant ; Langerhans Cells ; Lymphocytes ; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases ; Recurrence

Dyskeratosis congenita (DC) is a rare genetic disorder encompassing abnormal skin pigmentation, dystrophic nails, leukoplakia of mucous membranes and others. Bone marrow failure is the cause of early mortality. Moreover, DC is known for its predisposition to malignancy. X-linked recessive, autosomal dominant and autosomal recessive forms of the disease are recognized. We describe here a rare case of DC in a 4-year-old girl showing dark skin, dystrophic toe nails, and mild bone marrow failure. Autosomal recessive disease was suggested as the patient is female, and tests for DKC1 and hTR mutations were negative. Intermittent treatment with oxymetholone and prednisolone for about 26 months resulted in stable hemoglobin and platelet response.
Blood Platelets ; Bone Marrow ; Child, Preschool ; Dyskeratosis Congenita* ; Female* ; Humans ; Leukoplakia ; Mortality ; Mucous Membrane ; Oxymetholone ; Prednisolone ; Skin ; Skin Pigmentation ; Toes

Veno-occlusive disease (VOD) of the liver is a life-threatening complication occurring early after blood or bone marrow transplantation (BMT). Effective treatment has not been established in case of severe forms of VOD. Defibrotide, a single-stranded polydeoxyribonucleotide, has been used on a compassionate basis in recent clinical trials with promising results. We report here with the first Korean experience of using defibrotide for the treatment of hepatic VOD occurring after unrelated umbilical cord blood transplant in a 2-year-old child with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Defibrotide was administered for 23 days without any significant side effects with resolution of signs and symptoms of VOD.
Bone Marrow Transplantation ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Empathy ; Fetal Blood* ; Hepatic Veno-Occlusive Disease* ; Humans ; Liver ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; Umbilical Cord*

PURPOSE: Granulocytic sarcoma (GS), an extramedullary tumor consisting of primitive myeloid cells, is a rare manifestation of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). However, GS can occasionally precede the development of systemic leukemia by weeks to years. The objectives of this study are to describe the frequency, clinical characteristics and survival of AML children with GS from a single Korean institute. METHODS: Retrospective review of all the AML children who presented between January, 1995 and June, 2003 was undertaken. RESULTS: GS developed in 9 children among 118 AML patients (incidence, 7.6%). The median age at diagnosis of AML was 82 months (8 months~13 years) with equal sexual distribution. The sites of GS were scalp (n=4), skull (n=3), paranasal sinuses (n=1), external auditory canal (n=1), spinal epidura (n=1), and spinal intramedulla (n=1). The symptoms related with GS were scalp mass (n=4), paraparesis (n=3), facial nerve palsy (n=3), hearing impairment (n=2), and exophthalmos (n=1). In the case with spinal epidural mass, GS preceded the diagnosis of AML by 15 months. Cytogenetics were available in 8 cases, and t (8; 21) was found in five cases. All cases received systemic chemotherapy, with surgical decompression and radiotherapy for 2 patients involving spine. Seven cases received stem cell transplantations (3, allogeneic bone marrow; 4, autologous peripheral blood). The 5-yr event-free survival was 35.0% by Kaplan-Meier method. All 3 allografted patients are alive (86 mo, 5 mo, 1 mo), while 3 of 4 autografted patients had either died or relapsed. CONCLUSION: GS should be considered in patients with or even without AML who have palpable mass or neurological manifestation. Effective treatment, including allogeneic stem cell transplantation, should be considered to achieve a durable disease control.
Allografts ; Autografts ; Bone Marrow ; Child ; Cytogenetics ; Decompression, Surgical ; Diagnosis ; Disease-Free Survival ; Drug Therapy ; Ear Canal ; Exophthalmos ; Facial Nerve ; Hearing Loss ; Humans ; Leukemia ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute* ; Myeloid Cells ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Paralysis ; Paranasal Sinuses ; Paraparesis ; Radiotherapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Sarcoma, Myeloid* ; Scalp ; Skull ; Spine ; Stem Cell Transplantation

PURPOSE: We analyzed a cohort of patients with Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) to understand the clinical findings, optimal management, and outcome of the disease. METHODS: We performed a retrospective clinical study of LCH from January 1993 to August 2002 at Chonnam National University Hospital. All 39 patients with histologically proven histiocytosis were categorized into Class I (n=22), Class II (n=15) and Class III (n=2) by WHO classification. RESULTS: There were 18 males and 21 females. Mean age at diagnosis was 3.2 years. The common clinical manifestations of Class I were soft tissue swelling, skin rash or nodule, otorrhea; and those of Class II were hepatosplenomegaly, fever, and respiratory symptoms. The most commonly involved organ of Class I was the skeleton; and that of Class II was bone marrow. Abnormal hematologic findings were found in 23 patients, especially in all Class II patients. Infectious etiology was documented in 5 Class II patients (CMV in 3, EBV in 1, mycoplasma in 1). Chemotherapy was given to 19 out of 22 Class I patients. Six of them showed complete remission. Four died during chemotherapy. The overall survival of Class I patients was 78% and that of Class II 63%. Poor prognostic factors of Class I were age < 1 year, over two organ involvement, hemoglobin < 10 g/dL, bilirubin > 1.5 mg/dL. CONCLUSION: The Langerhans cell histiocytosis is a heterogeneous disorder of significant morbidity and mortality. Early recognition and aggressive medical treatment might improve the survival rate.
Bilirubin ; Bone Marrow ; Classification ; Cohort Studies ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Exanthema ; Female ; Fever ; Herpesvirus 4, Human ; Histiocytosis ; Histiocytosis, Langerhans-Cell* ; Humans ; Jeollanam-do ; Male ; Mortality ; Mycoplasma ; Retrospective Studies ; Skeleton ; Survival Rate ; Treatment Outcome*

Bronchiolitis obliterans (BO) is a particularly severe complication that occurs in 10% to 15 % of the patients with extensive graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and is often refractory to treatment. We report herewith a child with chronic GVHD and BO after unrelated BMT. A 8 year-old girl with Ph ALL (Philadelphia-chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia) underwent an unrelated BMT in the first complete remission. Engraftment was uneventful. Acute GVHD of the skin developed, and was treated with methylprednisolone. No evidence of GVHD flare was documented, and immunosuppression was tapered off by 7 months posttransplant. On 9 months posttransplant, chronic GVHD involving skin, liver, mouth, eyes, gastrointestinal tract, and lungs developed. Despite conservative managements, the patient developed pneumomediastinum and subcutaneous emphysema secondary to severe BO. Her condition continued to deteriorate, and she died of respiratory failure 10 months after transplant. Further studies are required to identify risk factors and to develop newer methods of effective treatment for this rare complication.
Bone Marrow Transplantation ; Bronchiolitis Obliterans* ; Bronchiolitis* ; Child ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Graft vs Host Disease ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Immunosuppression ; Liver ; Lung ; Mediastinal Emphysema* ; Methylprednisolone ; Mouth ; Respiratory Insufficiency ; Risk Factors ; Skin ; Subcutaneous Emphysema*

Background: DNA prevalence and type distribution of human papillomavirus (HPV) varies geographically. We investigated HPV prevalence and type distribution in Korean women using the MyHPV DNA chip testing. Methods: A total of 2,368 women from five regions of the country underwent Pap smear examination and MyHPV chip testing. Results: Overall HPV positivity was 15.8% and 78.4% in women with normal and abnormal cytology, respectively. High-risk HPV infection was strongly correlated with cytological atypia. In women with abnormal cytology, the five most common HPV types were 16, 58, 18, 52, and 56/53, and HPV16 was significantly the most common type in most geographical regions. After HPV16, HPV58, and 52 were the next most frequently detected types. Women with normal cytology, in contrast, showed heterogeneity in HPV type distribution. High-grade intraepithelial lesions infected with HPV16, 18, 31 or 45 are more likely to progress to carcinoma. Conclusions: The HPV chip test can provide useful data regarding HPV positivity and type. The most common HPV type in Korean women with abnormal cytology is HPV16, with HPV58 and 52 being frequently present. Our data may have important implications for vaccination programs and the development of cervical screening.
Cervix Uteri ; DNA ; Female ; Genotype ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; Population Characteristics ; Prevalence ; Republic of Korea ; Vaccination ; Vaginal Smears

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to examine the reproducibility of both the diagnosis of endometrial hyperplasia (EH) or adenocarcinoma, and the histologic grading (HG) of endometrioid adenocarcinoma (EC). METHODS: Ninety-three cases of EH or adenocarcinomas were reviewed independently by 21 pathologists of the Gynecologic Pathology Study Group. A consensus diagnosis was defined as agreement among more than two thirds of the 21 pathologists. RESULTS: There was no agreement on the diagnosis in 13 cases (14.0%). According to the consensus review, six of the 11 EH cases (54.5%) were diagnosed as EH, 48 of the 57 EC cases (84.2%) were EC, and 5 of the 6 serous carcinomas (SC) (83.3%) were SC. There was no consensus for the 6 atypical EH (AEH) cases. On the HG of EC, there was no agreement in 2 cases (3.5%). According to the consensus review, 30 of the 33 G1 cases (90.9%) were G1, 11 of the 18 G2 cases (61.1%) were G2, and 4 of the 4 G3 cases (100.0%) were G3. CONCLUSIONS: The consensus study showed high agreement for both EC and SC, but there was no consensus for AEH. The reproducibility for the HG of G2 was poor. We suggest that simplification of the classification of EH and a two-tiered grading system for EC will be necessary.
Adenocarcinoma