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DNA-informed prescribing (termed pharmacogenomics, PGx) is the epitome of personalised medicine. Despite international guidelines existing, its implementation in paediatric oncology remains sparse.

Hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is an effective treatment for pediatric patients with high-risk, refractory, or relapsed acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, a large proportion of transplanted patients eventually die due to relapse. To improve overall survival, we propose a combined strategy based on cord blood (CB)-HCT with the application of AML-specific T cell receptor (TCR)-engineered T cell therapy derived from the same CB graft.

KMT2A-rearranged acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in infants is an aggressive disease with 3-year event-free survival below 40%. Most relapses occur during treatment, with two thirds occurring within 1 year and 90% within 2 years after diagnosis. Outcomes have not improved in recent decades despite intensification of chemotherapy.

Influenza infection contributes substantially to global morbidity and mortality, with children undergoing treatment for cancer among the most vulnerable due to immunosuppression associated with disease and treatment. However, influenza remains one of the most common vaccine-preventable diseases.

Children with Down syndrome (DS) are at a significantly higher risk of developing acute myeloid leukemia, also termed myeloid leukemia associated with DS (ML-DS). In contrast to the highly favorable prognosis of primary ML-DS, the limited data that are available for children who relapse or who have refractory ML-DS (r/r ML-DS) suggest a dismal prognosis. There are few clinical trials and no standardized treatment approach for this population.

Cardio-oncology is a new multidisciplinary area of expertise that seeks to pre-emptively and proactively address cardiac complications that emerge during and following cancer therapy. Modern therapies including molecular targeted therapy and immunotherapy have broadened the agents that can cause cardiac sequelae, often with complications arising within days to weeks of therapy.

Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is the most common paediatric malignancy and remains one of the most common causes of cancer-related death in children and adolescents. It is characterised by the proliferation of immature lymphoid cells capable of infiltrating bone marrow, blood and extramedullary sites. Five-year overall survival rates exceed 90% with current multidrug chemotherapeutic regimens. This manuscript reviews the abdominal imaging features of leukaemic infiltration in children with ALL at the time of initial diagnosis and following relapse.

This report provides detailed characterization of carcinoma of unknown primary (CUP) in a young child and in the absence of defined therapeutic guidelines for pediatric CUP, the successful treatment strategy described should be considered for similar cases.

We report on the Australian experience of blinatumomab for treatment of 24 children with relapsed/refractory precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (B-ALL) and high-risk genetics, resulting in a minimal residual disease (MRD) response rate of 58%, 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) of 39% and 2-year overall survival of 63%. In total, 83% (n = 20/24) proceeded to haematopoietic stem cell transplant, directly after blinatumomab (n = 12) or following additional salvage therapy (n = 8).

A new study led by Australian researchers has outlined for the first time the best treatment options for children suffering from meningioma