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The FDA approved selumetinib as treatment for pediatric neurofibromatosis type 1, expanding options for young patients with inoperable plexiform neurofibromas.

FDA Approves Selumetinib in Pediatric Neurofibromatosis Type 1

Pediatric patients self-reported symptom burden using the SSPedi tool, which observed symptom burden from baseline, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks. 

Male Pediatric Patients Have Lower Self-Reported Symptom Burden From Cancer

Balancing a career as a pediatric oncologist with leadership responsibilities, Maria C. Velez, MD, shares insights into her passion for the field and ASPHO’s impactful work.

Leading the Charge in Pediatric Oncology as the New ASPHO President 

The safety profile of iopofosine I 131 in the phase 1b CLOVER-2 trial appears consistent with prior reports of the agent.

Iopofosine I 131 Shows Preliminary Survival Benefit in Pediatric R/R Glioma

The EMA’s CHMP has adopted a positive opinion for mirdametinib in patients with inoperable plexiform neurofibromas of neurofibromatosis type 1.

CHMP Recommends Mirdametinib for EU Approval in Adult/Pediatric NF1-PN

Creating a Seamless Transition from Pediatric to Adult Patient Cancer Care

The transition from pediatric patient to an adult patient can sometimes be a gray area. Maria C. Velez, MD, spoke to CancerNetwork® about how she and her colleagues try to make it a seamless transition.

The pediatric oncology program at Manning Family Children’s New Orleans has partnered with adult colleagues throughout Louisiana, so when the time comes, patients can have an easy transition of care. Velez noted that many of the clinicians working at these partnered sites have studied or trained at LSUHSC and Manning Family Children’s as adult oncologists or primary care providers, including Medicine-Pediatrics (MedPeds) specialists, so they are all familiar with the diagnoses and potential late effects.

Velez also highlighted the survivorship program at her institution, developed by her colleague, Pinki Prasad, MD, MPH, which “helps bridge the gap” between pediatrics and adult oncology care. Through these initiatives, Velez is hoping to create a more cohesive space for the transition of care.

Velez is a distinguished professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology/Oncology, and former director of the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Fellowship at LSU Health Sciences Center School of Medicine-New Orleans and Manning Family Children’s, and the current president of the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPHO).

This is an area that we continue to work on and strive to improve. We have partnered with adult colleagues in the community, not only through LSU, but also the other programs in the region and the state, to identify primary care physicians who had some knowledge of our type of patient, many of whom are graduates from our program... We also collaborate with our adult colleagues in oncology for those patients who require further management and care once they graduate from our programs, many of the [whom are] hematology [cases]. It remains a challenge for many of them. I’m not going to say no [about moving to an adult program], especially for some of the hematology disorders and young patients with brain tumors. Some of them, unfortunately, had long-term [adverse] effects and sequela of the treatment. We have survivor programs [at LSU]; one of my colleagues leads that, and that also helps us bridge this gap in some of the areas. We are also now working on strengthening and further developing our AYA, or adolescent and young adult, program, in collaboration with our adult colleagues in medical oncology at LSU. With all that, we are hoping to continue expanding this so that the patient continues to have the best care that they subsequently will need, not only because of potential physical consequences or late effects, but also sometimes psychological and cognitive [effects], and so on in similar areas.

While there is no clear and cut way to transition patients from pediatric to adult care, Maria C. Velez, MD, has established a helpful network of willing clinicians. 

New ASPHO President Hopes to Increase Awareness Around Pediatric Oncology

Maria C. Velez, MD, the 2025-2026 president of the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPHO), has big plans on how to advance the society and bring more attention to a much-needed specialty.

While her term is only 1 year, she is very excited to launch the reassessment of the society’s strategic plan, set to be executed over the next 3 to 5 years. She will work with the board members, the leadership team, and other ASPHO members to make sure it is implemented, to shine a necessary light on the society.

® about how ASPHO's focus has been, among other things, on advocacy and being a reputable resource to various outlets. Its collaboration with various oncology groups has added another layer of advocacy and support for the members to benefit the patients and colleagues in the subspecialty.

Velez is a distinguished professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology/Oncology, and former director of the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Fellowship at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine, New Orleans. Velez also has several leadership roles at Manning Family Children’s New Orleans.

I’m very excited to launch a reassessment of the society through a strategic plan during my term. My term is a year, and it started in May [2025] and will go through May of 2026. Through this reassessment, we want to learn what issues are of most concern to our members and [community], and how we can dynamically address them. We’ll do this through educational programming, advocacy, and support of the field. The strategic plan combines a 3- to 5-year holistic vision for this specialty with a focus on actionable steps that, together, then help us achieve the shared goals. It’s an ambitious plan, but it’s also critically needed in this environment.

Raising awareness of the needs of the pediatric hematology-oncology community is a key priority for ASPHO, so much so that the 2022-2025 strategic plan includes a dedicated goal with specific action steps to address it. Over the past several years, our efforts have expanded to include advocacy initiatives; serving as a trusted resource to the media, policy makers, and health care providers, which includes not only our pediatric hematology oncologists but also other support team colleagues like APPs; building strategic partnerships and coalitions with the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), American Society of Hematology (ASH), and other stakeholders to speak with a unified voice; and leveraging the expertise of our members to support both patient needs and the advancement of our subspecialty.

While Maria C. Velez, MD’s, term as president of ASPHO is only 1 year, she is already confident in ASPHO’s strategic plans.

Creating an Accommodating Pediatric Cancer Care Experience

RU Morris 1.2

In May 2025, RWJBarnabas Health and Rutgers Cancer Institute opened the Jack & Sheryl Morris Cancer Center in New Brunswick, New Jersey. One of 13 freestanding cancer hospitals across the US and the first in New Jersey, the new facility is intended to combine inpatient and outpatient cancer services with advanced research laboratories within an environment that prioritizes patient-centered care.

At the center’s opening ceremony, CancerNetwork

 spoke with Steven K. Libutti, MD, FACS, and Andrew M. Evens, DO, MBA, MSc, to learn more about the facility’s pediatric care wing and how its unique design may deliver an accommodating experience for younger patients with cancer.

Libutti, who is the William N. Hait Director of Rutgers Cancer Institute and senior vice president of oncology services at RWJBarnabas Health, described how the Jersey Shore served as the inspiration for the pediatric wing’s layout to create a space that patients would not “dread going to.” The wing features amenities with a boardwalk theme and includes arcade games and toys, which may help provide a comforting experience for younger patients and their loved ones.

Evens, the deputy director for clinical services at Rutgers Cancer Institute, the system director of medical oncology and oncology lead at RWJBarnabas Health Medical Group, and the chief physician officer of the Jack & Sheryl Morris Cancer Center, elaborated on the pediatric wing’s accommodations. On top of providing physical, state-of-the-art treatment, Evens emphasized how the wing’s design serves to emotionally help younger patients who are undergoing therapy.

 We wanted to disarm the cancer experience for our youngest patients. Our pediatric unit is based on a day at the Jersey Shore. It’s a Jersey Shore theme with a boardwalk, an arcade, and a toy store. The idea is to try to make it something you don’t dread going to but something that is accommodating to the patient, their family, and their siblings.

We’re so pleased to be able to include pediatric cancer care in the Jack & Sheryl Morris Cancer Center. Everything we’ve done—adult and pediatric [care]—has been through the lens of the patient and the family. They’ve been involved since day 1. We held charrettes at The Heldrich Hotel in New Brunswick, [New Jersey]. We’d walk through 3D mock-up models, and [there] it was decided—and we’re so happy—[on] a Jersey Shore boardwalk theme in the pediatric cancer care [wing]. When you walk in, there are beautiful, high-resolution images of the Jersey Shore and other game rooms. There is a toy store and anything and everything you need to help disarm the patient and families. Obviously, cancer care can be tough. We wanted to make sure we’re providing not just that physical, incredible state-of-the-art care but also emotionally helping patients navigate through their journey, especially our youngest [patients receiving] cancer care.

RWJBarnabas Health, Rutgers Cancer Institute celebrate opening of New Jersey’s first and only freestanding cancer hospital. News release. RWJBarnabas Health and Rutgers Cancer Institute. May 13, 2025. Accessed May 15, 2025. https://tinyurl.com/bdf47yr4

The pediatric care wing of the Jack & Sheryl Morris Cancer Center is intended to accommodate the physical and emotional needs of younger patients with cancer.

A review from the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) AYA Oncology Discipline Committee, published in 

, suggested that interventions to support sexual health are necessary for adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors.

The committee’s Sexual Health Task Force conducted a review of articles specifically focused on sexual dysfunction, sexual desire, satisfaction, body image, and romantic relationships among posttreatment AYA cancer survivors who were diagnosed with cancer in childhood, adolescence, or young adulthood. Ultimately, the review suggested that collaborations between the COG and adult-focused cooperative groups associated with the National Cancer Institute’s National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) are necessary to enhance assessment of sexual dysfunction and test interventions to improve sexual health among this patient population.

“As the number of AYA survivors continues to grow, there is a pressing need for targeted information, education, and intervention around sexual health, intimate relationships, and body image,” the authors of the review wrote.

“Building on the results of this review, the COG is poised to develop a prospective study of AYA sexual health through the inclusion of key measures within NCTN-wide survivorship studies and concomitantly contribute to ongoing education for providers and patients.”

, Gwendolyn P. Quinn, PhD, professor in the Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology as well as Population Health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, discussed what will be necessary to address the issues identified in the review and improve young cancer survivors’ quality of life.

Cherven B, Sampson A, Bober SL, et al. Sexual health among adolescent and young adult cancer survivors: A scoping review from the Children’s Oncology Group Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology Discipline Committee. 

. Published December 7, 2020. doi: 10.3322/caac.21655

“As the number of AYA survivors continues to grow, there is a pressing need for targeted information, education, and intervention around sexual health, intimate relationships, and body image,” the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) AYA Oncology Discipline Committee wrote in a review.

Gwendolyn P. Quinn, PhD, on Sexual Health in AYA Cancer Survivors

,though more adolescent and young adult (AYA) women appear to be engaging in discussions with their oncologists about the risk of fertility loss and fertility preservation options, a significant number are still not being given the information they desire and therefore are not making fully informed treatment decisions.

Given this finding, the researchers suggested that future studies of shared decision-making about fertility preservation should include measures of psychosocial constructs in order to highlight the importance of perceived involvement in decision-making. Additionally, it was indicated that further study of the impact of treatment delays due to fertility preservation is needed in more diverse settings.

“As patients progress to survivorship, regardless of their fertility preservation treatment decision, care teams should continue to monitor fertility outcomes of AYA women and provide them information regarding family planning to protect against further distress, especially as the extent of damage to fertility due to treatment is often uncertain,” the authors wrote.

, Jackelyn B. Payne, MPH, MA, a doctoral student in the department of Psychology at Stony Brook University and one of the authors of the paper, explained the importance of fertility preservation in this patient population and what more needs to be done to ensure this patient population receives the proper care.

This segment comes from the CancerNetwork® portion of the MJH Life Sciences Medical World News, airing daily on all MJH Life Sciences channels.

Payne JB, Flowers CR, Allen PB. Supporting Decision-Making on Fertility Preservation Among Adolescent and Young Adult Women With Cancer. 

.https://www.cancernetwork.com/view/supporting-decision-making-on-fertility-preservation-among-adolescent-and-young-adult-women-with-cancer

Payne and colleagues indicated that a significant number of adolescent and young adult women are still not being given the information they desire regarding fertility preservation and therefore are not making fully informed treatment decisions. 

Jackelyn B. Payne, MPH, MA, on Fertility Preservation in AYAs with Cancer

, of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, reviews classic syndromes associated with increased leukemia susceptibility and highlights pediatric patients who may be at increased risk for an inherited leukemia predisposition and should receive additional work-up.

Savage gave a presentation on this topic during an education session at the 2017 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition, held December 9–12 in Atlanta.

This video reviews classic syndromes associated with increased leukemia susceptibility and highlights pediatric patients who may be at increased risk for an inherited leukemia predisposition and should receive additional work-up.

Pediatric Cancers

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