In the county of Stockholm, between 1970 and 2002, we have previously reported a 3-fold parallel increase in the incidence of tonsillar squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and the proportion of human papillomavirus (HPV) positive tonsillar SCC. Here, we have followed the above parameters in all patients (n 5 120) diagnosed with tonsillar SCC during [2003][2004][2005][2006][2007] in the same area, and also in correlation to our previous data. Ninety-eight pretreatment biopsies were available and presence of HPV DNA and HPV-16 E6 and E7 RNA were tested by polymerase chain reaction (

Purpose Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is a brainstem malignancy with a median survival of < 1 year. The International and European Society for Pediatric Oncology DIPG Registries collaborated to compare clinical, radiologic, and histomolecular characteristics between short-term survivors (STSs) and long-term survivors (LTSs). Materials and Methods Data abstracted from registry databases included patients from North America, Australia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, and Croatia. Results Among 1,130 pediatric and young adults with radiographically confirmed DIPG, 122 (11%) were excluded. Of the 1,008 remaining patients, 101 (10%) were LTSs (survival ≥ 2 years). Median survival time was 11 months (interquartile range, 7.5 to 16 months), and 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-year survival rates were 42.3% (95% CI, 38.1% to 44.1%), 9.6% (95% CI, 7.8% to 11.3%), 4.3% (95% CI, 3.2% to 5.8%), 3.2% (95% CI, 2.4% to 4.6%), and 2.2% (95% CI, 1.4% to 3.4%), respectively. LTSs, compared with STSs, more commonly presented at age < 3 or > 10 years (11% v 3% and 33% v 23%, respectively; P < .001) and with longer symptom duration ( P < .001). STSs, compared with LTSs, more commonly presented with cranial nerve palsy (83% v 73%, respectively; P = .008), ring enhancement (38% v 23%, respectively; P = .007), necrosis (42% v 26%, respectively; P = .009), and extrapontine extension (92% v 86%, respectively; P = .04). LTSs more commonly received systemic therapy at diagnosis (88% v 75% for STSs; P = .005). Biopsies and autopsies were performed in 299 patients (30%) and 77 patients (10%), respectively; 181 tumors (48%) were molecularly characterized. LTSs were more likely to harbor a HIST1H3B mutation (odds ratio, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.1 to 1.5; P = .002). Conclusion We report clinical, radiologic, and molecular factors that correlate with survival in children and young adults with DIPG, which are important for risk stratification in future clinical trials.

BK virus (BKV) load in urine alone or in combination with acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) was correlated to development of hemorrhagic cystitis (HC). BKV load in combination with acute GVHD discriminated the best, while BKV and viral load alone, but not GVHD, still showed predictive ability for HC.

The influence of conditioning regimen, donor background and HLA matching on development of BK virus (BKV)-associated haemorrhagic cystitis (HC) was examined in 175 allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) patients, undergoing 179 HSCT events. Twentyseven patients presented late-onset HC, and BK viruria was verified in 23/27 HC events. Seventy-one (40%) HSCTs were performed with myeloablative conditioning (MC), 108 (60%) were performed with reduced intensity conditioning (RIC), 66 (37%) were performed with a related donor (RD) grafts and 113 (63%) with an unrelated donor (URD) graft. BK viruria was more common during HC, than non-HC events, after MC as compared to RIC (both Po0.001), and with an HLA-mismatched donor (Po0.01). By multivariate logistical regression analysis, independent risk factors for HC were BKV (OR 6.7; 95% CI 2.0-21.7; P ¼ 0.001), MC (OR 6.0; 95% CI 2.1-17.3; Po0.001) and URD (OR 3.4; 95% CI 1.1-10.6; P ¼ 0.03). However, when analysing HSCT performed with URD or RD grafts separately, BKV (OR 8.5; 95% CI 1.8-19.3; P ¼ 0.004) and MC (OR 5.9; 95% CI 1.3-11.3; P ¼ 0.009) increased the risk for HC only with a URD, but not with an RD graft.