Study Objective: Education materials detailing fertility preservation options geared towards pediatric oncology patients are inadequately available, particularly materials that are culturally tailored. An English language pediatric fertility preservation brochure was developed in 2011, and given the significance of family building among Hispanics, it is important to transcreate materials for these audiences using learner verification to explore the unique preferences of the population.Design: Qualitative face-to-face interviews and focus groups.Participants: Spanish-speaking patients (n = 10), parents (n = 10), and healthcare providers (n = 5). Suggestions for revisions were tested with focus groups of the same population (N = 16).Main Outcome Measures: Design, readability, likelihood to read, and overall opinion.Results: Feedback was organized into 2 distinct themes: design and reader action. Overall the majority of parents and patients wanted personal accounts of other patients who had undergone fertility preservation, as well as photos of actual patients. The medical terminology in the brochure was acceptable and understood by most. The majority of participants who preferred the design with vivid colors and patterns explained this was because that brochure also contained more relevant information; however, both brochures had identical information. Many participants explained they would be receptive to receiving the brochure and the, reproductive health information should be reinforced throughout cancer care.Conclusions: A learner verification approach to create pediatric educational materials can judiciously identify unique preferences for information. These results will be utilized to educate Spanish-speaking pediatric oncology patients and their parents to improve decision-making processes regarding future parenthood.

Tacrolimus is routinely administered for GVHD prophylaxis as a 24-h continuous infusion that requires a dedicated i.v. line and thus becomes logistically difficult to administer, especially in young pediatric patients. We investigated the safety and efficacy of twice daily bolus infusions of i.v. tacrolimus in 33 children undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) at our institution. Tacrolimus was started at an initial dose of 0.015 mg/kg i.v. bolus administered as a 2-h infusion and then given at every 12 h to maintain a trough drug level between 5–15 ng/mL. Patients also received short-course MTX (66%) or mycophenolate mofetil (34%) in combination with tacrolimus. No acute infusional toxicities were observed with bolus infusions of i.v. tacrolimus. Nephrotoxicity occurred in 14/33 (42%) patients and 48% developed hypertension (HT). Almost all (94%) patients required magnesium supplements to maintain magnesium (Mg) levels ⩾1.5 mg/dL. In all, 3 (9%) patients developed severe sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS). One patient developed posterior reversible leuko-encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) and one additional patient had tremors. The prevelance of these side-effects was similar to those reported for continuous i.v. administration. In all, 28% of the evaluable patients developed acute GVHD⩾grade II, though the incidence of severe (grade III–IV) GVHD was only 7%. These results suggest that intermittent bolus i.v. tacrolimus administration is a safe and effective method of GVHD prophylaxis in children.

We report two second malignant neoplasms (SMNs) of the parotid gland. Patient 1 was initially diagnosed with precursor B‐cell lymphoblastic lymphoma of the scalp. Eight years after her initial diagnosis she presented with a small, painless mass in the region of her parotid gland. Patient 2 was diagnosed with pre‐B‐cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Thirteen years after her initial diagnosis she presented with a painless mass in her right cheek. Both patients underwent superficial parotidectomies following excisional biopsies. Pathology revealed low‐grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) in both cases. Both patients are currently tumor free. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology 27(10):p 505-507, October 2005. | DOI: 10.1097/01.mph.0000184571.08341.35