Kyung Duk Park1, Che Ry Hong2, Jung Yoon Choi2, Min Sun Kim2, Eun Sang Yi3, Sonephet Saysouliyo4, Khounthavy Phongsavath4, Hee Young Shin2. 1. a Department of Pediatrics , Chonbuk National University College of Medicine , Jeonju , Republic of Korea. 2. b Department of Pediatrics , Seoul National University College of Medicine , Seoul , Republic of Korea. 3. c Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) , Seoul , Republic of Korea. 4. d Department of Pediatrics , National Children's Hospital , Vientiane , Lao Democratic People's Republic.
Abstract
AIM: The Lao-Korea National Children's Hospital initiated and developed a pediatric cancer treatment program for the first time in September 2012, through education by the Lee Jong-Wook project, establishment of infrastructure by the Korea International Cooperation Agency, and cooperation of medical staff. MATERIAL AND METHODS: we describe the experience of initiating and building this program by retrospectively reviewing the data from pediatric patients with cancer diagnosed at the Lao-Korea National Children's Hospital between September 2012 and December 2016. RESULTS: A total of 78 patients diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) (n = 44), acute myeloid leukemia (AML) (n = 12), chronic myeloid leukemia (n = 7), lymphoma (n = 6), retinoblastoma (n = 5), Wilms tumor (n = 3), and germ cell tumor (n = 1) were included. Of the 44 patients with ALL, 40 received induction chemotherapy, and 4 refused chemotherapy. Of these 40 patients, 29 (73.6%) achieved complete remission (CR) and 9 (22.5%) died during chemotherapy. Of the 29 patients with CR, 4 completed the chemotherapy, 19 were still on chemotherapy, 4 relapsed, and 2 were deceased. Treatment was unsuccessful for all 12 patients with AML. CONCLUSION: We successfully initiated the pediatric cancer care program but faced challenges associated with high mortality because of insufficient resources. We should continue our efforts to find more abandoned patients, detect cancer earlier, and reduce the overall associated mortality.
AIM: The Lao-Korea National Children's Hospital initiated and developed a pediatric cancer treatment program for the first time in September 2012, through education by the Lee Jong-Wook project, establishment of infrastructure by the Korea International Cooperation Agency, and cooperation of medical staff. MATERIAL AND METHODS: we describe the experience of initiating and building this program by retrospectively reviewing the data from pediatric patients with cancer diagnosed at the Lao-Korea National Children's Hospital between September 2012 and December 2016. RESULTS: A total of 78 patients diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) (n = 44), acute myeloid leukemia (AML) (n = 12), chronic myeloid leukemia (n = 7), lymphoma (n = 6), retinoblastoma (n = 5), Wilms tumor (n = 3), and germ cell tumor (n = 1) were included. Of the 44 patients with ALL, 40 received induction chemotherapy, and 4 refused chemotherapy. Of these 40 patients, 29 (73.6%) achieved complete remission (CR) and 9 (22.5%) died during chemotherapy. Of the 29 patients with CR, 4 completed the chemotherapy, 19 were still on chemotherapy, 4 relapsed, and 2 were deceased. Treatment was unsuccessful for all 12 patients with AML. CONCLUSION: We successfully initiated the pediatric cancer care program but faced challenges associated with high mortality because of insufficient resources. We should continue our efforts to find more abandoned patients, detect cancer earlier, and reduce the overall associated mortality.
Entities:
Keywords:
Cancer control; leukemia & lymphoma; pediatric oncology
Authors: Mohd Yusran Othman; Sally Blair; Shireen A Nah; Hany Ariffin; Chatchawin Assanasen; Shui Yen Soh; Anette S Jacobsen; Catherine Lam; Amos H P Loh Journal: JCO Glob Oncol Date: 2020-08