Northeast Florida Medicine
Vol. 66, No. 2 2015
11
Guest Editorial
Pediatric Oncology in Northeast Florida
I am very honored to help create the first ever issue of
Northeast Florida Medicine devoted to pediatric oncology.
For many people, their first reaction to the topic is one of
overwhelming sadness. I often hear from other physicians,
“I could never do that. How can you stand it?” Without
a doubt, a childhood
diagnosis of cancer is
a terrible situation and
one that evokes tre-
mendous anxiety, fear,
and stress in the lives
of children, parents,
and their families. Yet,
cancer therapies have
improved dramatically
over the last ten years
with cure rates that
exceed those for most
adult malignancies.
According to the American Cancer Society, every year
approximately 14,000 children are diagnosed with cancer
at an average age of six years old. Although cancer remains
the leading cause of death for children of any disease,
close to 90 percent of all cases are cured with more than
400,000 survivors of childhood cancer alive in the United
States annually. The most common diagnoses are leukemia,
brain tumors, and Hodgkins lymphoma.
Over the last ten years, we have continued to see break-
throughs in treatment options for many diagnoses. In 2015,
we have already seen the Food and Drug Administration’s
approval of dinutuximab for the treatment of high risk
neuroblastoma. As a monoclonal antibody, it furthers
the hope of bringing the new era of immunotherapy to
children with cancer.
This issue highlights much of the great pediatric oncology
work being done here in Jacksonville.
Drs. Eric Sandler
and
Paul Pitel
highlight the issues
facing adult survivors of pediatric cancer including the
incidence and spectrum of late side effects and options for
treatment. As more patients are cured of their diagnoses,
increasing attention is being paid to this critical topic to
help them transition into adulthood.
Drs. Julie Bradley,
Ronny Rotondo
, and
Daniel In-
delicato
highlight the curative role of radiation therapy in
the management of common pediatric brain tumors. The
availability of proton radiation therapy for children with
brain tumors gives hope to treating patients with successful
cure rates, while minimizing long-term side effects.
My article
discusses the impact of a pediatric cancer
diagnosis on each family member and highlights character-
istics of families that handle the period more successfully.
Inherent family dynamics and each individual’s ability to
handle stress play a critical role during treatment.
Dr. Daniel Robie
discusses the incidence, workup, and
management options for patients diagnosed with thyroid
cancer including surgical and radiation therapy. With
high cure rates, it is critical to balance the success of each
treatment option with its long-term side effects.
Our continuing medical education article comes from
Drs. Corey Hobbs
and
Michael Olson
on the topic of
Wilms tumor. Over the last ten years, an improvement
in the ability to subclassify each case’s risk of relapse has
allowed for the development of better risk-adaptive strat-
egies for treatment.
Finally,
Dr. Scott Bradfield
addresses the topic of adoles-
cent and young adult (AYA) oncology. Patients diagnosed
with cancer between the ages of 15-30 years old have a
different spectrum of issues related to their diagnoses than
younger patients. By focusing on the AYA patients sepa-
rately, we have become more astute at addressing topics
specific to their physical and psychological needs.
This issue of
Northeast Florida Medicine
will give the
reader a new appreciation of the pediatric oncology world
and its broad range of diagnoses, treatment options, and
issues specific to this area of medicine. For me, it has been
one of the most rewarding aspects of my career. I have
grown to respect the patients, their families, and providers
of childhood cancer enormously and feel tremendously
proud and humbled to be a part of the team.
v
Cynthia Anderson, MD
Guest Editor
