Understanding Childhood Cancer With Dr Geoff

CAR T-cells, Interview with Dr Caroline Bateman

Mon, 14 Mar 2022 01:30:21 GMT

CAR T-cell therapy is an exciting new treatment for acute leukaemia. In this episode, Dr Geoff interviews his colleague Dr Caroline Bateman about CAR T-cells and introducing the treatment option to her unit.

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"S" is for "Special" : Stage MS Neuroblastoma (also called Stage IVS, 4S)

Thu, 20 May 2021 05:38:20 GMT

There is a special subtype of neuroblastoma seen in very young children, with spread of disease throughout the body, but which needs a very different approach to treatment compared to older children with metastatic disease. This episode explains the features of this stage MS neuroblastoma, the early problems, and the treatment used.

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Where did my child's immune system go?

Fri, 26 Mar 2021 05:01:28 GMT

Childhood cancer treatment leads to severe impairment of the ability to fight infections. This episode explains what immune suppression means, what causes it, and the problems that result.

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Update re the future of rock and roll.... CAR T-cells

Wed, 10 Mar 2021 00:24:07 GMT

A few years ago I described CAR T-cells, but they weren't available for routine use. I now update things, with the very important news about CAR T-cell therapy now becoming available. There is also an interview with Dr Caroline Bateman re this subject in another episode.

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Blood Cultures

Mon, 08 Mar 2021 04:49:35 GMT

We take a lot of blood samples looking for infection in the bloodstream. This episode explains what blood cultures are all about.

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PRISM, Molecular Profiling, and Informed Consent

Wed, 24 Feb 2021 00:29:15 GMT

A number of countries have research studies where childhood cancers are analysed in great detail, testing all the DNA in something called 'molecular profiling'. The national Australian study of this is called PRISM, and it is a very exciting project. This episode explains a molecular profiling project and covers issues of obtaining informed consent from parents and patients as well.

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The MEK inhibitors: trametinib and selumetinib

Fri, 19 Feb 2021 01:42:33 GMT

The MEK inhibitors are a newer class of drug, and include trametinib, selumetinib and others. They have an important role in paediatric oncology, particularly in glioma treatment and in neurofibromatosis.

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The needle in the haystack: Minimal Residual Disease

Thu, 14 Jan 2021 07:29:45 GMT

Sophisticated techniques can detect one cancer cell amongst a million normal cells. This episode describes these methods and how they are used in treatment.

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DIPG: to biopsy or not to biopsy

Mon, 16 Nov 2020 04:53:19 GMT

For many years we didn't biopsy the tumour when the scans suggested that the tumour was a DIPG. This episode explains why that has changed, and the emerging role of biopsy.

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DIPG: what do these letters stand for?

Sun, 22 Jan 2017 23:04:41 GMT

DIPG is a type of brain tumor which occurs in children. This episode explains what the letters mean.

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Chemotherapy 7: Ifosfamide

Sun, 27 Nov 2016 23:08:44 GMT

Ifosfamide is another chemotherapy drug, used particularly in certain sarcomas and certain patients with leukaemia. This episode explains how it is given, and common and rare side effects.

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Why does my child need a heart test? Echo's and ECG's.

Wed, 07 Sep 2016 02:17:43 GMT

We often need to evaluate heart function during chemotherapy. This episode explains what the tests are, and why we need to do them.

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Highlights of ASCO: Two transplants for neuroblastoma??

Mon, 08 Aug 2016 01:13:53 GMT

At the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in June 2016, a study was presented looking at using two autologous bone marrow transplants in neuroblastoma. The results were exciting....

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"A Selfless Act": my reading of an article on clinical trials in childhood cancer.

Wed, 25 May 2016 00:56:51 GMT

In this episode I read out for you an article written by Dr Susan Cohn from the University of Chicago. Dr Cohn is an eminent paediatric oncologist, and a world expert on children's cancer trials, particularly in neuroblastoma.

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Residents, fellows, registrars; who are all these doctors?

Mon, 23 May 2016 00:38:10 GMT

When families find themselves in a hospital, they meet all sorts of doctors with all sorts of titles, residents, interns, fellows, registrars. This episode explains who's who in the childhood cancer medical team.

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G-CSF and PEG G-CSF: drugs to boost the bone marrow.

Wed, 13 Apr 2016 00:48:20 GMT

Chemotherapy can make the white blood cell count drop, predisposing to infection. These drugs work to boost white blood cell production.

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Neuroblastoma 3: High-dose MIBG as treatment

Wed, 06 Apr 2016 00:53:28 GMT

I talked about MIBG scans previously. In this episode I discuss the use of high doses of MIBG as a treatment of neuroblastoma.

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Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer: What's special about the AYA's?

Mon, 21 Mar 2016 04:16:02 GMT

Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer: What's special about the AYA's? by Dr Geoff

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Neuroblastoma 2: MIBG scans

Tue, 05 Jan 2016 23:51:09 GMT

MIBG scans are used to evaluate and monitor neuroblastoma.

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What not to give your oncologist for Christmas.

Wed, 16 Dec 2015 00:14:12 GMT

My Christmas Special episode. Includes the Top 12 people who deserve a Christmas present more than the oncologist.

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Interesting article: do children with cancer have an underlying gene abnormality?

Wed, 02 Dec 2015 06:22:50 GMT

Parents always ask why their child developed cancer. They ask if it is genetic, meaning is it something hereditary, or some abnormality in the DNA that the child was born with. In this episode I discuss a recent paper that examined this question.

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Personalised Medicine 5: how to detect all these DNA abnormalities

Tue, 24 Nov 2015 05:43:04 GMT

There are multiple ways to go looking for DNA, RNA and protein abnormalities. Many should still be considered research, not standard practice, but they may well be part of the future of cancer therapy.

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Lymphoma 1: Hodgkin's and Non-Hodgkin's (x4)

Mon, 02 Nov 2015 05:17:39 GMT

Lymphomas make up about 11% of childhood cancer, and there are several different types.

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Personalised Medicine 4: How DNA gets messed up to cause cancer.

Thu, 29 Oct 2015 23:43:10 GMT

There's multiple ways the DNA code can get messed up and lead to cancer. This episode describes some of them, along with some little green men.

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Personalised Medicine 3: how the right DNA leads to the right cake.

Mon, 26 Oct 2015 04:06:45 GMT

The proteins have to have the right amino acids all assembled in the right order, and the DNA code is the recipe that's used. This episode explains how the correct DNA leads to the right protein being made.

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Personalised Medicine 2: first ya gotta understand the proteins

Tue, 20 Oct 2015 22:36:29 GMT

To understand all this DNA analysis business, first one needs to know a bit about proteins. Proteins basically do all the work in cells, and so DNA mutations interfere with protein structures.Serious geek alert!

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Glioma 1: what does 'grade' mean?

Tue, 20 Oct 2015 21:44:59 GMT

Gliomas are a type of brain tumour, and are usually called 'low grade' or 'high grade'. What do these terms mean?

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Lumbar Punctures 2: injecting a drug into the spinal fluid

Thu, 15 Oct 2015 22:00:21 GMT

Some chemotherapy drugs don't get into the brain and spinal fluid properly, so we have to inject drugs into the spinal fluid. This is mainly in leukaemia and lymphoma.

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Lumbar Puncture 1: what is a lumbar puncture?

Thu, 08 Oct 2015 06:26:15 GMT

We often need to take samples of the spinal fluid, and regularly inject chemotherapy drugs there too. We do this using a lumbar puncture.

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Nutrition 4: Total Parenteral Nutrition

Wed, 07 Oct 2015 22:32:21 GMT

When eating and nasogastric feeding aren't working, we may need to give nutrition straight into the vein. That's called TPN or hyperalimentation.

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Personalised Medicine 1: What is Personalised Oncology?

Tue, 06 Oct 2015 22:55:59 GMT

There's a lot of discussion about 'personalised medicine'. What is personalised oncology?

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Nutrition 3: Nasogastric Feeding Tubes

Thu, 24 Sep 2015 03:12:49 GMT

If children just can't eat enough, we may need a feeding tube. This episode explains what these tubes are all about.

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Nutrition 2: Quinoa or KFC?

Wed, 23 Sep 2015 07:55:15 GMT

If nutrition is so important, then what food should kids eat while on chemotherapy?

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Nutrition 1: Why is Nutrition an Issue?

Mon, 21 Sep 2015 07:24:14 GMT

Children on chemotherapy can really struggle to maintain their weight. This episode explains why.

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Immunotherapy 4: Those amazing new antibodies against cancer

Sat, 19 Sep 2015 01:52:28 GMT

Exciting new antibodies against cancer were reported at ASCO this year. This episode explains how they work. Will they end up useful in childhood cancer?

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Fevers: why are the doctors so obsessed with fevers?

Tue, 08 Sep 2015 07:49:30 GMT

The doctors and nurses keep raving on about fevers, not cancer.... what's this all about?This information may be life-saving.

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Clinical Trials 5: What I love about the Europeans

Tue, 08 Sep 2015 07:47:20 GMT

Most new drugs for cancer are first evaluated in adult patients, then we wait, and wait for access for children. The Europeans appear to have this sorted out.

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Chemotherapy Drugs 7: High Dose Methotrexate

Wed, 02 Sep 2015 06:35:32 GMT

High dose methotrexate is used in leukaemia, lymphoma, osteosarcoma and certain brain tumours. We give a sky-high dose, then give the antidote, folinic acid, to 'rescue' the patient!

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Clinical Trials 4: Phase 3 Trials

Mon, 31 Aug 2015 03:57:56 GMT

Phase 3 trials are the big studies that compare a new treatment to the existing standard treatment. They enrol lots of patients and take years to complete.

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Clinical Trials 5: What trials would we choose to open?

Mon, 31 Aug 2015 00:17:31 GMT

How do we decide what clinical trials to open at a given institution?

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Why I took two days off, and why kids on chemo should go to school (usually)

Sat, 29 Aug 2015 04:09:16 GMT

Why I took two days off, and why kids on chemo should go to school (usually) by Dr Geoff

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Platelet Transfusions.

Fri, 21 Aug 2015 00:28:34 GMT

Platelets are tiny little cells that make blood clot properly. They go low after chemotherapy sometimes, and we often end up giving a platelet transfusion. That's one reason why blood donors save lives!This episode explains all about platelet transfusions.

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Central Lines 3: Things that can go wrong with central lines

Mon, 17 Aug 2015 07:40:25 GMT

We rely on central lines enormously, but they can bring their own problems. This episode describes the common things that can go wrong with a central line.

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Blood transfusions.

Fri, 14 Aug 2015 08:20:24 GMT

We often have to give blood transfusions following chemotherapy. This episode explains why we end up needing transfusions, when we give them, and what to expect.

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Acute Myeloid Leukamia 2: Treatment of AML

Thu, 13 Aug 2015 07:20:12 GMT

AML requires chemotherapy treatment, and sometimes bone marrow transplantation.

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Clinical Trials 3: Phase 2 Studies

Thu, 13 Aug 2015 05:48:42 GMT

We use phase 2 trials to conduct an initial evaluation of whether a new therapy has activity against cancer or leukaemia. This episode describes how phase 2 trials are performed.

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Clinical Trials 2: Phase I Studies

Fri, 07 Aug 2015 04:27:25 GMT

Phase I trials are the studies we do to work out the safety and dosing of new drugs. This podcast explains how they are conducted in adults and children.

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Clinical Trials 1: What are Clinical Trials?

Fri, 07 Aug 2015 01:09:19 GMT

Clinical trials are core business in childhood cancer units. It is through clinical trials that we have worked out what treatments are effective, and future trials will lead to further gains. This episode describes what a clinical trial is, and introduces some of the key concepts.

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Central Lines 2: The Two Types of Central Line.

Wed, 05 Aug 2015 02:30:15 GMT

This episode describes the two types of central lines that are generally used in children receiving chemotherapy.

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Acute Myeloid Leukaemia 1: What is this disease? The first weeks.

Tue, 04 Aug 2015 08:10:01 GMT

Acute myeloid leukaemia is the second main form of leukaemia in childhood. This podcast explains what the disease is, and the tests and treatments done at initial diagnosis.

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Central Lines 1: Why do we need a central line?

Mon, 03 Aug 2015 22:52:34 GMT

Most children on chemotherapy need a central line to give drugs into the veins. This episode explains why we need a central line.

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Transplants 4: Collecting Peripheral Blood Stem Cells

Wed, 29 Jul 2015 00:36:47 GMT

We often collect bone marrow stem cells from the bloodstream these days, either to transplant from one person to another, or to freeze and use for a patient later on. This episode describes the procedures used.

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Chemotherapy Drugs 6: Cisplatin.

Tue, 28 Jul 2015 08:18:22 GMT

Cisplatin is a chemotherapy drug that is particularly used in osteosarcoma, neuroblastoma, medulloblastoma, germ cell tumours and others. This episode describes how it is given and the important side effects.

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Transplants 3: Tissue Typing and Finding a Marrow Donor

Mon, 27 Jul 2015 11:02:04 GMT

Finding a suitable bone marrow donor requires testing of the tissue type or HLA type using a blood test. This episode describes what these tests are all about, and who may end up a suitable donor for an allogeneic bone marrow transplant.

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Transplants 2: Autologous bone marrow transplant.

Thu, 23 Jul 2015 22:25:20 GMT

Autologous bone marrow transplant uses the patient's own bone marrow, and is most commonly used in neuroblastoma, certain brain tumours, and certain other solid tumours.

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Remission, Induction, Relapse, Consolidation: What do all these words mean?

Wed, 22 Jul 2015 01:31:38 GMT

Doctors use too much jargon sometimes. This episode explains some of these terms that get thrown around.

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Chemotherapy Drugs 5: Cyclophosphamide

Tue, 21 Jul 2015 07:28:47 GMT

Cyclophosphamide is used in many different types of childhood cancer. This episode describes how it is given, for which diseases, and possible side effects.

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Transplants 1: What is a Bone Marrow Transplant?

Mon, 20 Jul 2015 23:15:46 GMT

Bone marrow transplantation is important in certain children with cancer. This episode describes the basic components of performing a bone marrow transplant.

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Medulloblastoma

Mon, 20 Jul 2015 06:12:44 GMT

Medulloblastoma is the commonest malignant brain tumour in childhood. This podcast describes the investigations and treatment of medulloblastoma.

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Radiotherapy in Childhood Cancer 1

Sun, 19 Jul 2015 07:34:49 GMT

What is radiotherapy, which patients needs radiotherapy, and how is it given? This episode describes radiotherapy, including external beam, brachytherapy, protons, and lots more.

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Chemotherapy Drugs 4: Body surface area and determining the right dose.

Wed, 15 Jul 2015 23:15:43 GMT

What's all this "mg per metre squared" thing about? How do we work out the right dose of chemotherapy drugs to give?

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Vomiting after chemotherapy: how to prevent and treat it.

Mon, 13 Jul 2015 06:49:31 GMT

Some chemotherapy drugs make children and adults feel sick. This episode describes the measures we can take to reduce this miserable side effect.

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Chemotherapy Drugs 3: Daunorubicin, doxorubicin, idarubicin, epirubicin and mitoxantrone.

Mon, 13 Jul 2015 05:48:16 GMT

This episode describes the anthracycline drugs, doxorubicin, daunorubicin and others. It describes the disease we treat with these drugs, the way they are given, and the particular side effects that may occur.

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Chemotherapy Drugs 2: Asparaginase

Sun, 12 Jul 2015 01:54:46 GMT

Asparaginase is used in treating leukaemia and lymphoma. This podcast describes the different types of asparaginase, how it's given, and the spectrum of possible side effects.

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Chemotherapy Drugs 1: Vincristine

Wed, 08 Jul 2015 00:36:36 GMT

Vincristine is used in a variety of different childhood cancers. This podcast describes its use and side effects.

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Immunotherapy 2: Anti-cancer antibodies

Tue, 07 Jul 2015 06:24:02 GMT

This episode describes the concepts of developing an antibody to treat cancer, and describes some of the antibodies that are out there to treat leukaemia, lymphoma, neuroblastoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma and others.

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Immunotherapy 1: How does the immune system work

Thu, 02 Jul 2015 23:44:18 GMT

Cancer immunotherapy is a very exciting area. This episode explains how the immune system normally works, particularly with respect to how antibodies work.

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What is a PET scan?

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 03:51:47 GMT

Dr Geoff explains what a PET scan is, and the situations where PET scan might be useful.

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Bone Tumours in Children and Young Adults 4: Treatment of Osteosarcoma

Thu, 25 Jun 2015 07:06:24 GMT

Dr Geoff discusses the treatment of osteosarcoma, including surgery and chemotherapy.

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BoneTumours in Children and Young Adults 3: Treatment of Ewing Sarcoma

Sun, 14 Jun 2015 04:11:43 GMT

This podcast describes the treatment of Ewing sarcoma, including chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy.

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Bone Tumours in Children and Young Adults 2: the first few weeks

Sat, 13 Jun 2015 03:39:46 GMT

This podcast describes the tests that are done to diagnose a bone tumour, and other procedures that lead up to starting therapy.

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Bone Tumours in Children and Young Adults 1: Ewing Sarcoma and Osteosarcoma

Sat, 13 Jun 2015 03:20:48 GMT

What are the main types of bone tumours in children and young adults? What is Ewing sarcoma, what is osteosarcoma?

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Chemotherapy for Childhood Cancer Episode 1: Introduction

Sun, 24 May 2015 11:57:21 GMT

Introduction to chemotherapy in the treatment of childhood cancer. Dr Geoff explains what chemotherapy is, how it works, and what side effects may occur.

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Introduction To Brain Tumours In Children

Fri, 22 May 2015 07:01:48 GMT

Introduction To Brain Tumours In Children by Dr Geoff

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Kidney Tumours In Childhood

Fri, 22 May 2015 02:57:53 GMT

Kidney Tumours In Childhood by Dr Geoff

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Wilms Tumour: American And European Approaches To Treatment

Wed, 13 May 2015 00:59:38 GMT

The American and European approaches to the treatment of Wilms' tumour are different. This podcast discusses the two approaches, and the arguments in favour of each strategy.

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Introduction To The Understanding Childhood Cancer Podcast Series

Tue, 12 May 2015 04:45:26 GMT

Introduction to this podcast series. What types of cancer occur in children and why? What is the outlook? Can childhood cancer be cured?

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Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in Childhood

Mon, 27 Apr 2015 03:03:09 GMT

All about acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in childhood

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Rhabdomyosarcoma

Mon, 30 Mar 2015 06:22:25 GMT

All about rhabdomyosarcoma. What sort of tumour is it? Where does it occur? What tests are needed? How is it treated?

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Neuroblastoma: Introduction

Mon, 16 Mar 2015 06:49:04 GMT

What is neuroblastoma? Where does it appear in the body? How is it diagnosed? What does 'staging' mean? How do we identify low risk and high risk patients? What tests need to be done? What treatment is used?

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What is childhood leukaemia?

Mon, 16 Mar 2015 04:18:24 GMT

What is leukaemia? How does leukaemia affect the blood and bone marrow? How is leukaemia diagnosed? What types of leukaemia are there in children?

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