mercaptopurine and Osteonecrosis

Osteonecrosis is a burdensome treatment-related toxicity that is mostly diagnosed during or soon after 6-mercaptopurine (6MP)/methotrexate (MTX) maintenance therapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), possibly indicating a pathogenic role of these drugs.. We prospectively registered symptomatic osteonecrosis during treatment of 1234 patients aged 1.0-45.9 years treated according to the Nordic Society of Hematology and Oncology (NOPHO) ALL2008 protocol. MTX/6MP metabolites were measured as part of the NOPHO ALL2008 maintenance therapy study.. After a median follow-up of 5.6 years [interquartile range (IQR) 3.6-7.5], 68 patients had been diagnosed with symptomatic osteonecrosis. The cumulative incidence was 2.7% [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.6-3.8%] for patients aged < 10 years, 14.9% (95% CI 9.7-20.2%) for patients aged 10.0-17.9 years, and 14.4% (95% CI 8.0-20.8%) for patients aged ≥ 18 years. The median time from diagnosis of ALL to diagnosis of osteonecrosis in these age groups was 1.0 year (IQR 0.7-2.0), 2.0 years (IQR 1.1-2.4), and 2.2 years (IQR 1.8-2.8), respectively (p = 0.001). With 17,854 blood samples available for MTX and 6MP metabolite analysis, neither erythrocyte levels of 6-thioguanine (TG) nucleotides (p > 0.99), methylated 6MP metabolites (p = 0.37), MTX polyglutamates (p = 0.98) nor DNA-TG (p = 0.53) were significantly associated with the hazard of osteonecrosis in Cox models stratified by the three age groups and adjusted for sex.. Maintenance therapy intensity determined by 6MP and MTX metabolites was not associated with the risk of developing osteonecrosis in the NOPHO ALL2008 cohort.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Child; Child, Preschool; DNA Adducts; Erythrocytes; Female; Humans; Infant; Male; Mercaptopurine; Methotrexate; Middle Aged; Osteonecrosis; Polyglutamic Acid; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma; Prospective Studies; Thioguanine; Young Adult

In this study, we performed a retrospective analysis of a cohort of Japanese paediatric patients with B-cell precursor (BCP)-acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) treated with a Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster (BFM)95-based protocol, to clarify the incidence, clinical characteristics, and risk factors of osteonecrosis (ON) in comparison to the ALL-02 protocol. We identified a high frequency of ON with the BFM95-based protocol compared to the ALL-02 protocol. The incidence of symptomatic ON with the BFM95-based protocol is comparable to previous studies in Western countries. We believe that the type of treatment regimen has more impact on the incidence of symptomatic ON in paediatric ALL than ethnicity.

Topics: Adolescent; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Asparaginase; Child; Child, Preschool; Cyclophosphamide; Cytarabine; Daunorubicin; Female; Humans; Incidence; Infant; Japan; Male; Mercaptopurine; Osteonecrosis; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma; Prednisolone; Prednisone; Retrospective Studies; Vincristine

Bone impairment is a well-known complication in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) survivors but less is known about bone dynamics during ALL therapy. We longitudinally assessed by Quantitative Ultrasound (QUS) skeletal modifications during this treatment.. Forty-four newly diagnosed ALL children underwent bone measurement by QUS parameters BTT (Bone Transmission Time) and AD-SoS (Amplitude-Dependent Speed of Sound), mainly reliant on bone density and cortical thickness, respectively. Measurements were performed at diagnosis, and 6, 12, and 24 months thereafter. The occurrence of skeletal complications such as fractures, vertebral collapse, osteonecrosis, and osteopenia was related to measurement outcome.. A rapid deterioration of bone properties measured by BTT and AD-SoS was evident in the first semester of therapy (p<0.001). Subsequently, the next measurements were characterized by progressive uncoupling of the two QUS parameters (p<0.001). These were both significantly reduced at the end of therapy (p<0.001). Twelve subjects with in-treatment skeletal complications displayed an almost two-fold decrease of both parameters (p<0.001). BTT decreasing more than 1 Standard Deviation (SD) over 6 months of therapy was able to predict skeletal complication occurrence (p<0.001).. This report represents the largest longitudinal cohort systematically submitted to bone condition assessment from the beginning to the end of therapy for childhood ALL. Bone deterioration occurs early and persists throughout therapy, consistent with bone properties uncoupling. This pattern possibly reflects an initial impairment of both mineral density and cortical thickness with a subsequent recovery of this latter. QUS permits an early detection of bone deterioration and related skeletal complications in childhood ALL.

Topics: Analysis of Variance; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Bone and Bones; Bone Density; Chi-Square Distribution; Child; Child, Preschool; Cyclophosphamide; Cytosine; Female; Fractures, Bone; Humans; Male; Mercaptopurine; Methotrexate; Osteonecrosis; Osteoporosis; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma; Prospective Studies; Time Factors; Ultrasonography; Vincristine

Avascular necrosis (avn) is a complication of treatment for malignancies in children and adolescents. The authors present a two-center retrospective of experiences with avn in children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia or non-Hodgkin lymphoma (8 from 191 patients with newly diagnosed disease in total of 19 sites). The median age at diagnosis was 16.6 years. Avn was observed in 4.1% of the group, higher among males than females (7/1), both during and after therapy. Early diagnosis of the process has enabled 7 patients to avoid surgical intervention. The increased incidence of avn, the multimodal character of symptoms, but unknown late consequences of avn showed that prospective studies of early recognition and proper therapy are needed.

Topics: Adolescent; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Asparaginase; Cyclophosphamide; Cytarabine; Daunorubicin; Dexamethasone; Female; Humans; Incidence; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin; Male; Mercaptopurine; Osteonecrosis; Poland; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma; Prednisolone; Prednisone; Retrospective Studies; Vincristine

The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency with which magnetic resonance (MR) imaging detects avascular necrosis of the bone (AVNB) in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) or advanced-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) who receive prednisone during remission induction, reinduction, and maintenance chemotherapy; to assess the clinical significance of these findings; and to identify factors predictive of AVNB. We prospectively obtained MR imaging of the hips and knees of 116 children who had completed at least 1 year of treatment for ALL or advanced-stage NHL on identical prednisone-containing regimens between December 1991 and October 1994. MR imaging findings of AVNB were compared with clinical outcomes, and the effect of therapeutic and patient factors on the frequency of AVNB was analyzed. The MR imaging findings of 17 of the 116 participating patients were consistent with AVNB. The most common clinical manifestation was joint pain (11 patients). Only one patient had progressive joint deterioration that necessitated surgical replacement. Only age 10 years or more at the time of the primary diagnosis was significantly associated with the development of AVNB (P = 0.004). MR imaging showed changes consistent with AVNB in approximately 15% of this patient population. However, most patients in this study who had MR imaging signs of AVNB did not experience progressive joint destruction, even with continued prednisone therapy. Therefore, the clinical usefulness of MR imaging as a screening tool for AVNB in this set of patients remains uncertain.

Topics: Adolescent; Age Factors; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Arthralgia; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip; Asparaginase; Child; Cyclophosphamide; Cytarabine; Daunorubicin; Dexamethasone; Etoposide; Female; Femur Head Necrosis; Humans; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Mercaptopurine; Methotrexate; Mitoxantrone; Osteonecrosis; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma; Prednisone; Risk Factors; Treatment Outcome; Vincristine