The psychometric properties of the patient and parent versions of the Chinese PedsQL Cancer Module were found acceptable.

Human herpesvirus 7 (HHV-7) is the least studied beta-herpesvirus in transplant settings. This prospective study examined the activity of HHV-7 during the first 12 weeks post-stem cell transplant in 59 paediatric patients. The presence of HHV-7, human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) in blood was monitored weekly by a multiplex nested polymerase chain reaction. Overall, 33 (55.9%) patients had one or more surveillance blood sample(s) positive for HHV-7. In contrast to HCMV and HHV-6, no obvious peak time of reactivation was observed for HHV-7. The occurrence of HHV-7 DNAaemia showed a significant negative association with HHV-6 (P=0.022), but with no association with HCMV. A significant higher positive rate for HHV-7 was found in autologous versus allogeneic (P=0.002), and in peripheral blood versus umbilical cord/marrow (P<0.001) transplant. Acyclovir had no effect, whereas ganciclovir was associated with a lower rate of HHV-7 reactivation (P=0.009). One patient died of HHV-7 associated brain stem encephalitis. The administration of colony stimulating factor, occurrence of acute graft versus host disease, time to neutrophil and platelet engraftment showed no significant association with the occurrence of HHV-7 DNAaemia.

Summary:From August 1992 to August 1999, 44 patients received allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in a single institution. The donors were HLA-identical siblings except for one who was a phenotypically matched father. Thirty-eight patients received bone marrow stem cells and the others received peripheral blood stem cells or umbilical cord blood (UCB). The mean age at transplant was 10.7 ± 5.1 years, ranging from 1.8 to 21 years. Patients received busulphan (16 mg/kg) and cyclophosphamide (150 to 200 mg/kg) as conditioning, and antithymocyte globulin was given to 42 patients to prevent graft rejection. All had engraftment except a patient who received a UCB transplant. Four patients died from early treatment-related mortality, and one died from interstitial pneumonitis 3 months after transplant. Two patients developed secondary graft rejection and both received a second transplant. Thirty-eight patients survived and all except one were transfusion independent. The 5-year overall and event-free survival rates were 86% and 82%, respectively. By multivariate stepwise Cox proportional hazard analyses, severe veno-occlusive disease (VOD) of liver and Pesaro class 3 features were the significant factors associated with survival. Patients aged more than 11 years were more inclined to develop VOD. In conclusion, haematopoietic stem cell transplantation should be performed early if an HLA identical sibling is available.