Biomedical subjects

Matthias Schell

Publications and source records attributed to Matthias Schell.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2008

Osteosarcoma metastatic to the kidney and iatrogenic hemorrhage.

A 16-year old female presented painful masses in the lumbar region 5 years after the initial diagnosis of a localized osteosarcoma of the tibia. Abdominal X-ray revealed calcified masses. A bone scan confirmed an increased uptake in the renal areas. An ultrasound-guided fine needle biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of metastases. The procedure was complicated by subcapsular hemorrhage and gross hematuria. Renal metastases from osteosarcoma are usually asymptomatic and invisible on abdominal X-rays. The diagnosis is generally established by radionuclide bone scan or abdominal CT-scan. Our observation suggests that histological documentation of these unusual clinical presentations should be carefully weighed against the risk of the procedure.

Amputation, Surgical↗

PubMed2006

[Immunotherapy of poor-prognosis neuroblastoma in children: from bench to bedside].

During the last two decades, improvements in the induction and consolidation treatment phases in patients with high-risk neuroblastoma have not translated into significant increases in survival rates. Efforts to improve outcome have used high-dose chemotherapy with stem cell rescue and more recently, differentiating (retinoids) and antiangiogenic agents. In parallel, immunotherapy has become an increasingly important part of the treatment of high-risk neuroblastoma. We review here the biological concepts underlying these new approaches and their clinical applications, with a particular emphasis on applications that manipulate the immune system, including monoclonal antibodies, gene-modified tumor cells (vaccines) or immune effectors.

Child↗

PubMed2006

[An interactive and evolutive software program to personalize treatment schedule : implication on daily life: the Centre Léon Bérard experience].

The second plan against cancer, initiated by the French President in 2003, has introduced a two-step procedure to announce cancer to the patient. During initial visit, the doctor tells the patient about his disease. On the second visit, the doctor elaborates the treatment strategy and proposes an individualized treatment plan for each patient. The objective of this plan is to offer to patients and caregivers an accurate, precise and personalized treatment schedule. The Centre Léon Bérard (Regional Cancer Center) has implemented a computerized model to manage all different treatment schedules. We developed a software program based on two different steps. Firstly, standard treatment schedules are programmed for each type of disease. To offer a better view of the influence of treatment on daily life, we added information such as place of treatment (ambulatory, inpatient, outpatient) impact on well being (side effects, risk of aplasia...), future evaluations and medical acts (CT scan, MRI, lumbar puncture...) as well as actions the patient should take (blood cell count, to have eaten nothing...). Secondly, it tailors these standard treatments as well as all complementary information's to the specific needs of each patient, based on the medical information available in their computerized records. This personalized plan may be modified and adjusted at any time including therefore more and more real details and insights for each patient (delay of chemotherapy, dates of CT scan....). This would help patients and caregivers to better understand the different phases of the treatment and, thus, improve patient follow-up and information at every step of patient management. This tool is currently being tested at the Centre Léon Bérard.

Case Management↗

PubMed2003

Risk model predictive of severe anemia requiring RBC transfusion after chemotherapy in pediatric solid tumor patients.

PURPOSE: Severe anemias requiring RBC transfusions is a frequent complication of chemotherapy. A model elaborated by Ray-Coquard et al in adults pointed to three independent risk factors for RBC transfusion: performance status (PS) more than 1, hemoglobin less than 12 g/dL, and prechemotherapy absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) < or = 700/microL. This model is tested on a pediatric population. PATIENTS AND METHODS: One hundred nineteen children with solid tumors consecutively admitted for conventional chemotherapy throughout 1 year were included. The study end point was the RBC-transfusion risk in the month following chemotherapy. Only one course was considered for each patient. Age, sex, number of courses, platinum-containing regimens, PS, and hemoglobin and lymphocyte count at day 1 were tested in univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: Thirty-one (26%) of 119 children required RBC transfusion within 31 days of chemotherapy. Three factors correlated to transfusion risk in the univariate analysis: PS more than 1 (P <.001), hemoglobin less than 12 g/dL (P =.007), and pretreatment ALC < or = 700/microL (P <.001). In the multivariate analysis, hemoglobin less than 12 g/dL, PS more than 1, and ALC < or = 700/microL were identified as independent factors predicting RBC transfusion. The calculated probability of receiving RBC transfusion within 31 days of chemotherapy was high with three risk factors (96%), intermediate with two risk factors (53% to 77%), low with one risk factor (10% to 26%), and very low when no risk factor was present (2%). The difference of transfusion needs was significant (P <.001). CONCLUSION: The risk model elaborated for adults may also segregate children at high risk of postchemotherapy RBC transfusion, thus facilitating assessment of risk of transfusion and/or prophylactic erythropoietin support.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Circulating MYCN DNA as a tumor-specific marker in neuroblastoma patients.

MYCN oncogene amplification is an established indicator of the aggressiveness of neuroblastomas; it is used internationally for stratifying patients for therapy. The present study shows that high levels of MYCN DNA sequences are present in the peripheral blood of patients with MYCN-amplified neuroblastomas. Circulating MYCN DNA may be a powerful and noninvasive prognostic marker at the time of diagnosis. Furthermore, preliminary data strongly suggest that the release of MYCN sequences in the peripheral blood is an early process in disease progression, permitting us to propose this novel marker for the follow-up of patients after chemotherapy.

Biomarkers, Tumor↗