We verified the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the Minneapolis-Manchester Quality of Life Instrument-Adolescent Form (KMMQL-AF) among Korean childhood cancer survivors. A total of 107 childhood cancer patients undergoing cancer treatment and 98 childhood cancer survivors who completed cancer treatment were recruited. To assess the internal structure of the KMMQL-AF, we performed multi-trait scaling analyses and exploratory factor analysis. Additionally, we compared each domains of the KMMQL-AF with those of the Karnofsky Performance Status Scale and the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS). Internal consistency of the KMMQL-AF was sufficient (Cronbach's alpha: 0.78-0.92). In multi-trait scaling analyses, the KMMQL-AF showed sufficient construct validity. The "physical functioning" domain showed moderate correlation with Karnofsky scores and the "psychological functioning" domain showed moderate-to-high correlation with the RCMAS. The KMMQL-AF discriminated between subgroups of different adolescent cancer survivors depending on treatment completion. The KMMQL-AF is a sufficiently reliable and valid instrument for measuring quality of life among Korean childhood cancer survivors.
Aggressive natural killer cell leukemia (ANKL) is a rare malignant disorder of mature NK cells frequently associated with Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). This malignancy is typically treated with intensive remission induction chemotherapy followed by allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). EBV-negative ANKL and childhood ANKL, however, are not well defined and the optimal therapeutic strategy in these cases is poorly understood. Here, we present a unique pediatric EBV-negative ANKL patient who achieved a successful treatment outcome after intensified ALL type chemotherapy without allogeneic HSCT.
BACKGROUND:Sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS) is a serious complication of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), with a mortality rate of up to 90%. We report our experience on the use of defibrotide for SOS prophylaxis in HSCT.MATERIAL AND METHODS:We retrospectively reviewed data of 49 patients who received defibrotide as SOS prophylaxis during the course of HSCT at the National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea, between August 2005 and July 2008.RESULTS:Thirty-four patients (69.4%) were classified as a high-risk group for developing SOS. Defibrotide was well-tolerated, without any grade 3 or 4 toxicity. The median value of maximum total bilirubin within 100 days after HSCT was within the normal range. SOS was diagnosed in only 1 patient, who underwent autologous HSCT due to relapsed medulloblastoma. There was no day 100 treatment-related mortality in our study.CONCLUSIONS:Defibrotide appears to be a safe prophylaxis for SOS. This study suggests that it could be effective to use prophylactic defibrotide in advance to improve HSCT outcomes in patients at risk of SOS.
Improved treatment strategies and better supportive care have resulted in increased survival rates for childhood cancers. However, most of the survivors may have complex, long-term health issues. In 2004, Childhood Cancer Survivorship Study of the United States confirmed that both survivors and the medical community need to be educated about the late effects of childhood cancer treatment. Korea, with an estimated number of childhood cancer survivors of 20,000 to 25,000, faces similar challenges that the United States had experienced earlier. Despite of the tight budgetary situation on the part of government and hospitals, nationwide cohort study for Korean childhood cancer survivors was proposed and the versions of instruments to measure the quality of life of childhood cancer survivors were already validated. Nationwide registry of long-term survivors as well as the multi-center study is to be developed not only for the care of the survivors but also to raise the patient's awareness of the importance of regular follow-up. In addition to education of primary care providers regarding the survivorship, the need for special education program in the school system is emphasized.
We describe a girl with Diamond-Blackfan anemia with accompanying red cell enolase deficiency. At the age of 9 yr old, the patient received allogeneic bone marrow transplantation from her HLA-identical sister who had normal red cell enolase activity. While the post transplant DNA analysis with short tandem repeat has continuously demonstrated a stable mixed chimerism on follow-up, the patient remains transfusion independent and continues to show a steady increase in red cell enolase activity for over two and a half years following bone marrow transplantation.
Background Despite advances in chemotherapy, the prognosis of relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) remains poor. Few studies on relapsed ALL have reported the importance of intensive consolidation followed with or without allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Methods We evaluated the post-relapse outcomes in 47 Korean children with a first marrow relapse, and analyzed the prognostic factors. Results A second complete remission (CR) was achieved in 40 patients (85.1%), and at the time of this study, second CR was maintained in 12 of these patients. The estimated 3-yr event-free survival (EFS) rate after the first marrow relapse was 29.8±6.7%, and the overall survival (OS) rate was 45.3±7.5%. We found that second remission, consolidation of pediatric oncology group chemotherapy regimen (POG 9411), and HSCT significantly affected the outcome of the disease after relapse (P<0.001; P=0.004; P=0.05). Conclusion The results of our study revealed that an intensified POG 9411 consolidation chemotherapy regimen followed by HSCT can improve the outcome of patients with relapsed ALL.
Background. Many studies have found that biphenotypic acute leukemia (BAL) is associated with a poor outcome. Methods. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records and analyzed clinicopathological data on 25 children with BAL, and correlated outcomes with prognostic factors. Results. BAL constituted 4.4% of all acute childhood leukemia cases. In terms of immunophenotype, 14 patients had leukemia with myeloid plus B-lymphoid (M + B) marker, 7 with myeloid plus T-lymphoid (M + T) marker, and 4 with myeloid Plus B-lymphoid and T-lymphoid (M + B + T) markers. Overall survival was superior in patients with the M + B immunophenotype (P=0.004). Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) (lid not improve either overall survival or event-free survival compared to chemotherapy alone (hazard ratio 0.98, 95% CI 0.35-2.76, P=0.966; hazard ratio 1.07, 95% CI 0.41-2.78, P=0.88). Each Of four patients with high-hyperdiploidy (>50 chromosomes) displayed a good treatment response and long-term overall survival even though these patients were treated with chemotherapy alone. Conclusions. Treatment outcomes in childhood BAL patients differed by immunophenotype and cytogenetics. HSCT did not offer a significantly greater survival advantage compared to chemotherapy. While these data suggest that treatment should be individualized and stratified according to biologic characteristics and prognostic factors in BAL, prospective trial data are still needed. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2009;53:444-452. (C) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Abstract Abstract 2072 Poster Board II-49 Backgrounds Currently, there are many efforts to design risk-adapted strategies in newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) by modulating treatment intensity and those seem to be an efficient approach to minimize treatment-related morbidity and mortality (TRM) while maintain the potential in cure for each relapse-risk group. We had postulated that maintaining of Ara-C during induction therapy might have acceptable toxicities yet obtaining good CR in newly diagnosed APL, and idarubicin alone during consolidation periods might have excellent LFS and OS with low relapse rate. Patients and Methods Eighty six patients with newly diagnosed APL were enrolled in the “multicenter AML-2000 trial” after informed consents were obtained during the period of January 2000 to July 2007. For remission induction therapy, patients received oral ATRA (45mg/m2/d, maintained until CR) combined with idarubicin (12mg/m2/d, D1-D3) plus Ara-C (100mg/m2/d, D1-D7). After CR achievement, patients received 3 monthly consolidation courses consisting of idarubicin (12mg/m2/d, D1-D3) alone and maintenance therapy with ATRA (45mg/m2/d, D1-D15, every 2 month) alone had continued for 2 years. Total patients were divided into low-risk, intermediate-risk and high-risk groups according to a predictive model for relapse risk (Sanz score) based on pretreatment WBC and platelet count and the treatment outcomes were compared in the different risk groups. Results The median age of our cohort was 40 years old (range; 6-80) and median follow-up was 27 months (range; 1-90). The distribution of patients in the 3 risk groups was as follows ; 28 (32.6%) patients in low-risk, 40 (46.5%) in intermediate-risk and 18 (20.9%) in high-risk. Overall, CR was achieved in 78 (90.7%) of 86 patients. The CR rate according risk groups was 96.4% in low-risk, 87.5% in intermediate-risk, and 88.9% in high-risk group and there was no significant statistical difference among the different risk groups. During induction therapy, 48 (55.8%) patients experienced grade 3-4 treatment-related toxicity (TRT), mostly fever and infection (38.8% of all patients) and 6 (7.0%) patients died of treatment-related complications. During 3 consolidation courses, 25 (29.1%) of 78 patients experienced grade 3-4 TRT in 1st course, 27 (36.0%) of 75 patients in 2nd course, and 14 (28.0%) of 50 patients in 3rd course. Overall, 3 (3.5%) patients died of treatment-related complications in CR. The incidence of TRT and treatment-related mortality (TRM) during induction or consolidation therapy showed no significant statistical difference among the different risk groups. The relapse occurred in 6 (7.0%) patients; 2 cases in intermediate-risk and 4 cases in high-risk. However, none had relapsed in low risk group, 5 patients of relapsed patients relapsed during consolidation courses and only one patient, however, relapsed during maintenance therapy. The overall survival (OS) and leukemia-free survival (LFS) rate at 7 years in all of patients was 76.7% and 83.5%, respectively. The OS rate at 7 years was 92.9% in low-risk, 78.6% in intermediate-risk and 53.6% in high-risk group (P:0.04) and the LFS rate at 7 years was 96.4%, 83.4% and 62.2% respectively, showing the significant difference between 3 different risk groups (P:0.046). Conclusions This study indicates that our protocol composed of induction therapy with “3+7” chemotherapy plus ATRA followed by consolidations with three courses of idarubicin alone and maintenance therapy with ATRA alone yields a high CR rate and low relapse rate but minimal acceptable toxicities. Despite of adding Ara-C during induction therapy, we did not find much significant toxicities but having good CR rates, and despite of not adding any additional low/intermediate dose chemotherapies(ie, 6MP), we were able to observe significantly high relapse rate in low and intermediate risk group with excellent LFS and OS. Meanwhile, in high-risk group, the relapse rate was significantly higher than other risk groups and most of the relapses occurred in the middle of consolidation courses. This data suggests that our consolidation therapy composed of anthracycline alone may be not enough to minimize risk of relapse in high-risk group in contrast with the low and intermediate-risk groups. More intensive consolidation therapy combined with other effective, but get tolerable chemotherapies or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in first CR or the combination of arsenic trioxide or others in front-line therapy should be considered in the patients with high-risk of relapse. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Cytogenetics is still being considered the most powerful single prognostic factor, which is useful to determine the types of post-remission therapy in AML, though various molecular markers are available for predicting the prognosis of AML patients. Most phase III studies have failed to demonstrate a clear advantage of allografting over chemotherapy in terms of overall survival because of significant risk of transplant-related mortality. Optimal post-remission therapies in terms of frequencies (number of treatment) or intensities are not decided yet. In this study, since 2000, we investigated that outcomes of post-remission therapies(high-dose cytarabine (HDAC) vs autologous stem cell transplantation (AutoSCT) vs allogeneic stem cell transplantation from sibling or unrelated donors (AlloSCT)) based on cytogenetic risk (GPG, Good prognosis group; IPG, Intermediate prognosis group; PPG, Poor prognosis group by MRC definition) on the AML patients who achieved complete remission after induction chemotherapy. The aims of this prospective intention to treat analysis was to compare the CR, recovery kinetics, DFS and OS in the different prognostic groups. Three plus seven (idarubicin 12mg/m2, D1–D3; cytarabine 100mg/m2, D1–D7) were given to de novo AML, secondary AML and therapy-related AML. Then, HDAC or AutoSCT was given after intermediate dose (8gm/m2) of cytarabine to the patients with GPG. Three times of post-remission therapy including HDAC, or AutoSCT followed by two times of post-remission therapy were given to IPG or PPG. If HLA-identical sibling was available, then AlloSCT underwent after 1st post-remission therapy. Since January, 2000, 506 patients(18 centers) were enrolled up to December, 2007. Among them, 92.3% was de novo AML, and GPG, IPG and PPG were, 23.1%, 62.1% and 14.8% respectively. Over all complete remission rate after 1st induction was 79.0% and CR rate in GPG, IPG, PPG were 92.0%, 81.0% and 43.9% respectively(P<0.001) in 476 patients who were eligible to this study. In Good Prognosis Group (GPG), survivals were not different between different treatment groups (5 year LFS: HDAC 34.2%, AutoSCT 63.5%, AlloSCT 54.8%, p=0.270; 5 year OS: HDAC 54.5%, AutoSCT 62.5%, AlloSCT 53.3%, p=0.676). However, beneficial effect of AlloSCT in post-remission therapy therapy was observed by multivariate analysis in terms of LFS compared to HDAC (HR of relapse for HDAC 3.198 compared to AlloSCT, p=0.045). Outcomes of HDAC group were inferior in GPG in terms of OS and LFS compared to other studies. This results may be due to low cumulative dose of Ara C, because patients of HDAC group in GPG treated just 1 cycle of IDAC before HDAC therapy. In addition, in our cohort, majority (80%) of GPG have t(8;21), which are known as having inferior survival results, compared to inv(16) group. In Intermediate Prognosis Group (IPG), survivals were not different among different types of treatment (5 year LFS: HDAC 31.1%, AutoSCT 42.4%, AlloSCT 55.0%, p=0.131; 5 year OS: HDAC 39.2%, AutoSCT 42.5%, AlloSCT 46.5%, p=0.491). AlloSCT group showed a trend of being superior to other therapeutic modalities in terms of LFS (p=0.07). AutoSCT group showed a trend of being superior to other therapeutic modalities in OS by multivariate analysis (HR of death for AutoSCT 0.539 compared to AlloSCT, p=0.085). In Poor Prognosis Group (PPG), though data showed slightly beneficial effect of AlloSCT in AML therapy, however, there were no significant statistical differences on OS/LFS in 3 types of consolidation therapy modalities (4 year LFS: HDAC 48.3%, AutoSCT 0%, AlloSCT 39.1%, p=0.379; 4 year OS: HDAC 21.4%, AutoSCT 33.3%, AlloSCT 56.1%, p=0.638). Based on this trial, Allo- or Auto-SCT over HDAC may have beneficial effects in some subgroup with high risk and young age, among the patients with good and intermediate cytogenetic risk. In GPG, “sufficient cumulative dose” of Ara C seems to be necessary to have a good outcome. However, GPG seems to be heterogenous group in terms of biology having poor prognosis when one has additional CG abnormalities on top of t(8;21) or inv(16), which ones need to investigate further. While finding more effective anti-AML molecules/monoclonal Ab's are necessary, good therapeutic rationales in terms of choosing AlloSCT vs AutoSCT vs HDAC should be established. Same time, identifying for better cellular and molecular prognostic factors over cytogenetics are still relevant for designing “effective therapies, but minimal toxicities”.
Purpose: Remarkable improvements in survival of children with cancer have resulted in a growing population of Korean childhood cancer survivors. However, long-term survivors are at risk for developing a broad spectrum of adverse outcomes. Therefore increasing emphasis is now being placed on health-related quality of life (HRQL) of Korean childhood cancer survivors. The Minneapolis-Manchester Quality of Life Instrument (MMQL) is a standardized patient self-report instrument designed to assess HRQL in childhood cancer survivors. In order to create an appropriate scale for the HRQL assessment of Korean childhood cancer survivors, the Korean version of MMQL-Youth Form (YF) (8 to 12 years) and MMQL-Adolescent Form (AF) (13 to 20 years) were cross-culturally adapted into Korean and its reliability and validity were evaluated.
Homozygous protein C deficiency is an autosomal recessive disorder often presenting with purpura fulminans. Fresh frozen plasma and oral anticoagulation have been used in the treatment of this disease. Lately, protein C concentrate has become the treatment of choice. However, protein C concentrate is not yet widely available in many countries. We report a six-month-old girl with homozygous protein C deficiency who had suffered from frequent thrombotic episodes. She was successfully treated with living donor liver transplantation. Eight years after the transplantation, she remains symptom free. As described here, the liver transplantation offers an alternative curative treatment for children with homozygous protein C deficiency.
Except in developed countries, the incidence of lung cancer notably in women and non-smokers is rising in most parts of the world. Here, we report two children diagnosed with pulmonary adenocarcinoma at a very early age. Interestingly, both showed negative EGFR mutation despite their ethnicity, histology, never smoking status and early age. Furthermore, one had preceding pulmonary tuberculosis. In the literature, the possible association of pulmonary tuberculosis and adenocarcinoma of lung especially in non-smokers has long been debated. The two children, by far the youngest with EGFR negative adenocarcinoma of lung, form the basis of this report.
This paper investigates the global exponential stability of neural networks with discrete and distributed delays. A new criterion for the exponential stability of neural networks with mixed delays is derived by using the Lyapunov stability theory, Homomorphic mapping theory and matrix theory. The obtained result is easier to be verified than those previously reported stability results. Finally, some illustrative numerical examples are given to show the effectiveness of the proposed result.
Background In this study, we investigated the effects of reduced-dose craniospinal radiotherapy (CSRT) followed by tandem high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) with autologous stem cell rescue (ASCR) in children with a newly diagnosed high-risk medulloblastoma (MB) or supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumor (sPNET). Methods Between March 2005 and April 2007, patients older than 3 years with a newly diagnosed high-risk MB or sPNET were enrolled. The patients received two cycles of pre-RT chemotherapy consisting of cisplatin, etoposide, vincristine, and cyclophosphamide (cycle A), and carboplatin, etoposide, vincristine, and ifosphamide (cycle B), followed by CSRT with 23.4 Gy and local RT with 30.6 Gy. After four cycles of post-RT chemotherapy (cycles A, B, A, and B), tandem double HDCT with ASCR was performed. Results A total of 13 patients (MB=11, sPNET=2) were enrolled. Of these, one patient progressed, one patient died of septic shock after the second cycle of B, and one patient relapsed after the third cycle of B. The 3-year event-free survival (EFS) rate of the patients intended for HDCT was 76.9%, whereas the 3-year EFS rate of the patients who received HDCT was 100%. No treatment-related mortality occurred during HDCT. Conclusion Although the follow-up period was short and the patient cohort was small in size, the results of this study are encouraging. The limited toxicity and favorable EFS rate observed in children treated with reduced-dose CSRT followed by HDCT and ASCR warrant further exploration in a larger study population.
Hyeon Jin Park, M.D., Byung Ho Nam, Ph.D., Hyun Sun Lim, M.S., Hee Young Shin, M.D., Jeong Ok Hah, M.D., Hyoung Jin Kang, M.D., Hong Hoe Koo, M.D., Hoon Kook, M.D., Dong Seok Kim, M.D., Seung Ki Kim, M.D., Il Han Kim, M.D., Ji Yoon Kim, M.D., Thad T. Ghim, M.D., Hack Ki Kim, M.D., Heung Sik Kim, M.D., Young Shin Ra, M.D., Hyung Nam Moon, M.D., Kyung Duk Park, M.D., Byung Kiu Park, M.D., Sang Kyu Park, M.D., Jun Eun Park, M.D., Ji Kyoung Park, M.D., Hee Jo Baek, M.D., Jong Jin Seo, M.D., Chang Ok Suh, M.D., Ki Woong Sung, M.D., Hyoung Jin Shin, M.D., Seung Do Ahn, M.D., Hyo Seop Ahn, M.D., Kyu Chang Wang, M.D., Keon Hee Yoo, M.D., Kyung Ha Ryu, M.D., Eun Sun Yoo, M.D., Chuhl Joo Lyu, M.D., Kun Soo Lee, M.D., Soon Yong Lee, M.D., Young Ho Lee, M.D., Jun Ah Lee, M.D., Do Hoon Lim, M.D., Ho Joon Im, M.D., Nak Gyun Chung, M.D., Dae Chul Jeong, M.D., Hye Lim Jung, M.D., Byung Kyu Cho, M.D., Bin Cho, M.D., Eun Jin Choi, M.D., Joong Uhn Choi, M.D. and Tai Ju Hwang, M.D.
Infection is one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. We assessed the incidence and characteristics of infections in 163 cord blood stem cell transplantation (CBT) recipients from 13 transplant centers of Korea between October, 1996 and April, 2005. The patients underwent CBT with standardized conditioning, GVHD prophylaxis and supportive care including pre-emptive ganciclovir therapy for cytomegalovirus (CMV) antigenemia. The median time to neutrophil engraftment was 19 days (10–62 days) and to platelet engraftment was 45 days (14–394 days). Within the post-transplant day 0 to day 30, 81.6% of patients (133/163) experienced febrile episodes with 11.7% (19/163) of clinically documented infection (CDI) and 19.6% (32/163) of microbiologically documented infection (MDI). The neutrophil engraftment was delayed in the patients with CDI and MDI rather than without CDI and MDI (day 26.3 vs day 21.5, P=0.03) before day 30. In the time period of day 30 to 100, febrile episodes, CDI and MDI occurred in 54.3% (82/151), 14.6% (42/151) and 13.2% (20/151), respectively. After day 100, 38.5% of patients (45/117) experienced febrile episodes with 17.9% (21/117) of CDI and 7.7% (9/117) of MDI. Although the incidence of febrile episodes before day 30 was significantly higher than after day 30, the incidence of CDI and MDI was comparable. There were no significant differences of infection rate according to the infused cell dose, the degree of HLA disparity, acute GVHD and chronic GVHD. The overall mortality rate after CBT was 40% (65/163). Infection was considered the primary cause of transplant-related mortality and represented 18.4% (106/163) of the causes of death with the median day of 96.5 (1∼1,081 days). The incidence of pre-transplant CMV-seropositivity was 85.5% of the patients (106/123) and CMV antigenemia developed in 52.7% of CMV-seropositive patients compared to 11.8% of CMV-seronegative patients (P=0.002). CMV disease developed in 25.7% of CMV-seropositive patients and 6.7% of CMV-seronegative patients, which showed statistiacally not significant. Pre-transplant conditioning regimens such as antithymocyte globulin did not affect on the incidence of CMV antigenemia or CMV disease. Based on our study, the infection was still the primary cause of mortality after CBT, particularly in patients with delayed neutrophil engraftment. The high prevalence of CMV seropositive patients in Korea was associated with increased incidence of CMV antigenemia, not with CMV disease.
The results of cytogenetics are one of the most important prognostic factors in the prognosis of AML. Three different post remission therapies were given with the IPG based on the MRC definitions using the cytogenetics results. The inclusion criteria included age<65, PS<3 with reasonable organ functions, cardiac ejection fraction>50%, bilirubin<2.0mg/dl, creatinine<2mg/dl in de novo AML and secondary AML. The aims of this prospective intention to treat analysis were to compare the CR, recovery kinetics, DFS and OS in IPG based on cytogenetics with 3 different consolidation treatment modalities described as follows. Three plus seven(Idarubicin 12mg/m2, D1-D3; Ara-C 100mg/m2, D1–D7) were given to de novo AML and secondary AML. HDAC followed by three times of post remission therapy or auto PBPCT followed by two times of post remission therapy was given to IPG. If an HLA-identical sibling were available, then allo BMT was tried after 1st post-remission therapy. The median age of the cohort(Total 194) is 42.5(±17.6) (HDAC(n:89) : 47.6, auto PBPCT(n:51) : 46.6, and allo BMT(n:54) : 30.5). The median days for ANC >500/μl and platelet>20k/μl during induction were 22 days and 21 days respectively. Grade 3~4 toxicities were found in 34.1%, 27.7% and 47.2% during HDAC, auto PBPCT and allo BMT, respetively(p<0.05). The relapse rate and the toxic death rate were 25.8%, 27.5% and 29.6%(p=0.24) and 9.1%, 5.5% and 16.6%(p<0.05) in HDAC, auto PBPCT and allo BMT, respectively. So far, this trial seems to be tolerable in terms of toxicities, during induction and post remission therapies. Among IPG, the auto PBPCT arm had a tendency of superior median survival over the HDAC or allo BMT in terms of OS and LFS without statistical differences(HDAC:17m and 8m, auto-PBPCT:18m and 12m, allograft:15m and 8m). This intention to treat trial, which started in Jan, 2000, has proceeded until now in order to have better statistical power for the subset analysis.
Objective: Chemoimmunotherapy based treatments improved the survival of patients with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), but the outcome is still unsatisfactory. We analyzed the outcome of pediatric patients with HLH after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in a nation-wide HLH registry. Methods: Retrospective nation-wide data recruitment for HLH pediatric patients diagnosed between 1996 and 2005 was carried out by Histiocytosis Working Party of the KSH and KSPHO. Sixteen patients who received HSCT among enrolled 129 pediatric patients with HLH were analyzed for transplant related variables and events. Results: The probability of 3-year survival after HSCT was 81.2% with median follow-up of 27.5 months compared to the 35.2% for patients who were treated with chemoimmunotherapy only ( P =0.03). The reasons for HSCT were active disease at 2 months after treatment (n=8), relapsed disease (n=5), and familial HLH (n=3). Eight patients received transplants from matched unrelated donors, 5 from matched siblings and 3 using unrelated cord blood units. Stem cell sources were bone marrow for all the 13 allogeneic transplants other than 3 cord blood transplants. Conditioning regimens were busulphan, cytoxan, and VP-16 with (5) or without (7) antithymocyte globulin (ATG) in 12 patients, fludarabin and melphalan in 3, and other regimen in 1. Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis consisted of cyclosporine (CSA) + MTX in 11 patients, CSA +MMF in 2, and others in 2. Twelve patients are alive in complete remission state, 3 patients died of infection and graft failure at early post-transplant period, and 1 patient relapsed at post-transplant 30 days. The relapsed patient developed tuberculous encephalitis after retreatment with chemoimmunotherapy, and alive with supportive care. After HSCT, acute GVHD developed in 5 patients, infection in 5, veno-occlusive disease (VOD) in 2, graft failure in 2, and post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) in 1. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia developed in 1 patient about 2 years after HSCT. Variables such as age at diagnosis, etiology of HLH (familial or secondary), central nervous system (CNS) involvement, disease state after 8 weeks of initial treatment, conditioning regimens, and stem cell sources were not associated with significant difference with regard to 3-year overall survival after HSCT. Conclusion: HSCT revealed excellent outcome for patients with familial, relapsed, or severe and persistent secondary HLH in Korean nation-wide HLH registry.