Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) is frequently considered as treatment for relapsed childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). For patients without a matched sibling donor, SCT from unrelated donors (UD-SCT) has been increasingly performed during the past years. However, UD-SCT-related mortality and morbidity is still considerable, and the question remains as to which patients are at such high risk of recurrence that UD-SCT is indicated and, conversely, which patients do not require transplantation for long-term disease control. A matchedpair analysis was performed among patients treated according to Acute Lymph-

We intend to conduct a nationwide survey entitled 'Fertility after Chemo- and Radiotherapy in Paediatric and Adolescent Patients' (FeCt). The aim is to gain valuable data with a larger number of participants and more statistical power to determine whether specific cytotoxic drugs or radiation increase the risk of infertility, and if so, at what doses. For the study, the DKKR has the addresses of more than 5 000 former patients in Germany who are now adults. The results will be used to plan future treatment optimisation studies, and to assess the need for prophylactic measures in cases where fertility-compromising therapies are unavoidable. This nationwide survey 'FeCt' will be supported by the Deutsche Kinderkrebsstiftung.

Our purpose was to determine the effect of creatine supplementation on power output during a 30-s maximal cycling (Wingate) test. Nine males underwent 3 randomly ordered tests following ingestion of a creatine supplementation (CRE), placebo (PLA), and control (CON) CRE was ingested as creatine monohydrate (CrH2O) dissolved in a flavored drink (20g.d-1 for 3 d), while PLA consisted of the drink only. Tests were performed 14 d apart on a Monarch ergometer modified for immediate resistance loading. Needle biopsies were taken from the vastus lateralis at the end of each treatment period and before the exercise test. No difference was found between conditions for peak, mean 10-s, and mean 30-s power output, percent fatigue, or post-exercise blood lactate concentration. Similarly, no difference between conditions was observed for ATP, phosphocreatine (PCr), or total creatine (TCr); however, the TCr/ATP was higher in the CRE condition (P < 0.05) than in the CON and PLA conditions. Findings suggest that 3 d of oral Cr supplementation does not increase resting muscle PCr concentration and has no effect on performance during a single short-term maximal cycling task.