Radio Rounds

According to the National Cancer Institute, the foundations of cancer treatment have typically been surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. Now, however, immunotherapy has become what many in the cancer community now call the "fifth pillar" of cancer treatment.

One that is emerging onto the scene is an approach called adoptive cell transfer (ACT), collecting and using patients' own immune cells to treat their cancer. There are several types of ACT, but the one that seems to be closest to producing a treatment approved by the Food and Drug Administration is called CAR T-cell therapy.

In this fascinating segment, Dr.Shalini Shenoy discusses this exciting new therapy, when it might be available to the public, and when to refer to a specialist.

Thirty percent of the approximately 12,500 children diagnosed with cancer each year may have a genetic cause for their disease.

A promising area of research in childhood cancer is genomic medicine, in which the genes of children with certain cancer diagnoses are closely examined. Advances in this field have shown that certain childhood cancers are related to specific genetic variations. Some of these same genetic changes may also cause other physical or developmental differences, and when grouped together, are considered to be a cancer predisposition syndrome.

In this segment, Dr Todd Druley explains how The Pediatric Cancer Predisposition Program at Siteman Kids at St. Louis Children's Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine seeks to identify at-risk children through genetic testing and diagnostic screenings, and can increase the likelihood of early detection and treatment.

St. Louis Children's Hospital? (SLCH) and Siteman Cancer? Center have joined forces ?against pediatric cancer by ?establishing "Siteman Kids at? St. Louis Children's Hospital. ?

The partnership is focused? on caring for children and? adolescents with cancer, using the latest, most effective treatments, in a setting that's specifically geared to younger patients and their families.

In this segment, Dr. Bob Hayashi discusses Siteman Kids at St. Louis Children's Hospital and the exciting new advancements in pediatric oncology available at SLCH.

The outlook for pediatric kidney transplant has dramatically improved during the last two decades and continues to improve in part due to the surgical techniques developed and ongoing research at Washington University School of Medicine.

An early pioneer in pediatric kidney transplant, St. Louis Children's Hospital remains a leader in the field, achieving a graft and patient survival rate well above the national average over the past decade.

In this segment, Dr. Vikas Dharnidharka discusses caring for a child that has had a kidney transplant and when to refer to a specialist.

The Torticollis Clinic at St. Louis Children's Hospital provides treatment for mild to severe cases of congenital (present at birth) muscular torticollis. This condition results when an infant's neck muscle is shortened, causing the neck to twist. Although some extremely mild cases may resolve on their own, most need some type of treatment.

In this segment, Dr Matthew Dobbs, a Washington University pediatric orthopedic surgeon at St. Louis Children's Hospital, discusses Torticollis (Wry Neck or Loxia) and when to refer to a specialist.

According to the CDC, autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) now affect approximately 1 in 88 American children. ASDs can have lifelong effects on individual functioning in areas such as learning, relationships, and independence in daily life.

In this segment, John Constantino, MD, Washington University pediatric psychiatrist at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, discusses the importance of a comprehensive assessment for intervention planning—and describes the next steps in the intervention process including development and implementation of an intervention plan.

Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) is a term for a group of problems a baby experiences when withdrawing from exposure to narcotics. It is estimated that 3 to 50 percent of newborn babies have been exposed to maternal drug use, depending on the population and area of the country.

In this segment, Dr Steve Liao, MD, Washington University Neonatal-Perinatal medicine physician at St. Louis Children's Hospital, discusses NAS and when a pediatrician should refer to a specialist.

In response to a growing patient population, the newly-established Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital provides care to kids and adolescents who identify as a gender different from the sex they were assigned at birth.

Listen in as Christopher Lewis, MD, & Sarah Garwood, MD discuss the cultural shift that has catapulted the need for these services.

Vascular ring refers to a group of abnormalities of the aorta and its branches. It can cause breathing problems and feeding problems in infants and children.

In this segment, Peter Manning,MD, discusses vascular ring and the new advancements, technology and research being done to improve treatment outcomes.

According to the NIH, the number of pediatric cancer survivors is growing rapidly as treatments become more effective. However, many current regimens can cause gonadotoxicity and permanent infertility, significantly impacting quality of life of these patients. Numerous treatment options are already available to prevent infertility in patients at risk.

In this segment, Dr. Kenan Omurtag, and Dr. Emily Jungheim, both Washington University reproductive endocrinologists and infertility specialists, discuss fertility preservation for pediatric cancer patients, at what point preservation modalities should be considered, when a fertility specialist should be brought in, as well as new scientific advances in this area.