Abstract The urinary catecholamine metabolites, homovanillic acid (HVA) and vanillylmandelic acid (VMA), are used for the adjunctive diagnosis of neuroblastomas. We aimed to develop a scoring system for the diagnosis and pretreatment risk assessment of neuroblastoma, incorporating age and other urinary catecholamine metabolite combinations. Urine samples from 227 controls (227 samples) and 68 patients with neuroblastoma (228 samples) were evaluated. First, the catecholamine metabolites vanillactic acid (VLA) and 3‐methoxytyramine sulfate (MTS) were identified as urinary marker candidates through comprehensive analysis using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. The concentrations of these marker candidates and conventional markers were then compared among controls, patients, and numerous risk groups to develop a scoring system. Participants were classified into four groups: control, low risk, intermediate risk, and high risk, and the proportional odds model was fitted using the L2‐penalized maximum likelihood method, incorporating age on a monthly scale for adjustment. This scoring model using the novel urine catecholamine metabolite combinations, VLA and MTS, had greater area under the curve values than the model using HVA and VMA for diagnosis (0.978 vs. 0.964), pretreatment risk assessment (low and intermediate risk vs. high risk: 0.866 vs. 0.724; low risk vs. intermediate and high risk: 0.871 vs. 0.680), and prognostic factors ( MYCN status: 0.741 vs. 0.369, histology: 0.932 vs. 0.747). The new system also had greater accuracy in detecting missing high‐risk neuroblastomas, and in predicting the pretreatment risk at the time of screening. The new scoring system employing VLA and MTS has the potential to replace the conventional adjunctive diagnostic method using HVA and VMA.
The possibility to enhance the effect of a modest chiral element in a metal ligand by the use of a second ligand possessing a concave cavity has been examined for the examples of 1,3- and 1,4-chirality transfer within the metal coordination sphere. Complexation of Ru(C60Me5)Cl(CO)2 with (R)-prophos [(R)-1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)propane] took place with excellent diastereoselectivity to give a configurationally stable chiral-at-metal complex, Ru(C60Me5)Cl((R)-prophos). This complex was converted, with good to perfect diastereoselectivity, into a variety of cationic complexes, [Ru(C60Me5)((R)-prophos)L][SbF6] (L = MeCN, tBuCN, methacrolein, acetone, CO, BnNC, 2,6-Me2C6H3NC), and a vinylidene complex, [Ru(C60Me5)(CCPhH)((R)-prophos)][SbF6]. The chirality transfer to the reactants reacting in the outer sphere of the coordination resulted in an asymmetric Diels−Alder reaction, albeit with modest selectivity.
Background: Immature retroperitoneal teratomas (RTs) are rare tumors predominantly diagnosed within the first year of life, with the majority being benign. Complete surgical resection is the primary treatment; however, surgical challenges due to anatomical complexities and perioperative complications often arise, particularly in neonates. This study presents a case of a congenital immature RT identified at birth, where the timing of surgical intervention was critically evaluated through a review of relevant literature. Case presentation: The patient, a male neonate born at 36 weeks, exhibited abdominal distention and was transferred for further evaluation. Imaging revealed a large retroperitoneal mass, leading to a diagnosis of immature teratoma. An initial biopsy confirmed the absence of malignancy, and surgical resection was delayed to allow for further development of the infant. The tumor, weighing 930 g, was successfully removed while preserving the right kidney, though postoperative urinary peritonitis occurred. The patient recovered and he was discharged with no recurrence after seven months. Conclusion: This case highlights the importance of carefully timing surgery in neonatal patients with complex conditions to minimize surgical risks.
During course of the synthetic studies to obtain such diphos-phine complexes, we obtained monodentate diphosphine com-plexes, which attract another interest owing to the existence of a coordination-free phosphine site, potentially available for further complexation to give multi-metal complex systems. Herein we report syntheses of monodentate bis(diphenylphos-phino)methane (abbr. dppm), bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene (abbr. dppf), and bis(diphenylphosphino)butane (abbr. dppb) complexes of the ruthenium-pentamethyl[60]fullerene. The results of this study have provided us insight into how the steric property of the penta(organo)[60]fullerene ligand affects on their complexation.We first tried to synthesize the dppm complexes, because dppm is a compact diphosphine ligand, which is expected to yield a bidentate complex. However, contrary to our expecta-
Purpose: Parental working conditions may be impacted by children’s cancer diagnoses, which lead to hospitalizations and long-term intensive treatments. Changes in working conditions (CWC) could lead to decreases in parental health-related quality of life (HRQOL), making it beneficial to understand parental beliefs. This study aimed to describe HRQOL in parents of hospitalized children with cancer in relation to parental CWC and to clarify the relationship between HRQOL and beliefs related to CWC.Design and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted before COVID-19 pandemic. HRQOL was evaluated using the Short Form Health Survey 36 (SF-36v2) standard version. The assessment of CWC accounted for employment status, working hours, and work content. Parental beliefs were evaluated using original items. Four groups were made in terms of CWC. The four CWC groups’ mean scores on each SF-36v2 component were compared.Results: Data from 18 mothers and 13 fathers were analyzed. Of the four groups, the 'quit/leave' group had the lowest mean mental and role/social component scores, whereas the 'arranged' group had the lowest physical component scores. The 'quit/leave' group reported the lowest mean score for the belief 'I can prioritize my work over caring for my child if necessary.' Conclusions: CWC may lower HRQOL in parents of hospitalized children with cancer. Flexible beliefs may encourage parents to maintain their working conditions and improve their HRQOL.Practice Implications: Healthcare professionals should assess parental beliefs while caring for children with cancer. They should also encourage parents to maintain their desired working conditions to improve HRQOL.
A recently proposed risk stratification of medulloblastomas has shown that Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) subtype with TP53 mutation is the worst prognostic. Here, we describe the case of a 6-year-old boy with clinically very aggressive SHH medulloblastoma like TP53 mutant, but the genetic status of the case was wild type. Copy number analysis showed MYCN amplification, chromosome 17p loss, and chromothripsis, which are known to be strongly associated with TP53-mutated SHH tumors. The presence of both chromosome 17p loss and chromothripsis in SHH medulloblastoma may suggest a p53 pathway dysregulation regardless of the TP53 status, leading to a much worse prognosis.
