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Objective: Vena cava superior syndrome comprises various symptoms of compression of vena cava superior. The results of increased venous pressure in the upper body may cause edema of the head and neck associated with cyanosis, plethora and distended subcutaneous vessels. Vena cava superior syndrome is rare in childhood. Therefore, we planned this retrospective study., Methods: The retrospective study was carried out on the children with mediastinal tumors in the Department of Pediatric Hematology-oncology, Erciyes University Faculty of Medicine, Kayseri, Turkey , from January 2010 to December 2017. Diagnostic procedures included hematological investigations, chestradiography, thoracic computed tomography, echocardiography and lymph node or mediastinal biopsy., Results: In this study, 19 (five were female) of 41 patients with mediastinal tumors had Vena cava superior syndrome. Diagnosis included Hodgkin's lymphoma in seven (37%), non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in six (32%), acute T- lymphoblastic leukemia in four (21%), neuroblastoma and anaplastic round cell sarcoma in one each respectively. All of the 19 patients' facial swelling, venous distention and mediastinal widening. All patients received intravenous corticosteroids (0.6 mg/kg dexamethasone). Furthermore, the patient with anaplastic round cell sarcoma received emergency radiotherapy. No patients died because of Vena cava superior syndrome., Conclusion: Vena cava superior syndrome is a medical emergency that requiresurgent treatment. Vena cava superior syndrome studies in children are rare. In this retrospective study, we found that the most common cause of Vena cava superior syndrome was Hodgkin's lymphoma different from literature., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: No conflict of interest was declared by the authors., (Copyright: © 2020 by Istanbul Northern Anatolian Association of Public Hospitals.)

Objective: In this study, we aimed to assess the effects of long- and short-term IL-15 cytokine exposure of human monocyte-derived curdlan-matured dendritic cells (DCs) on the production of Th17 cell-polarizing cytokine IL-23 and subsequent Th17 cell activation., Methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were purified using Ficoll-Paque from healthy donors. Monocytes were magnetically selected using CD14 Miltenyi beads and differentiated into DCs with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and IL-4 for five days in the presence or absence of IL-15 (100ng/ml) for long-term exposure experiments. Then, DCs were matured with peptidoglycan (PGN), or curdlan for 24 hours. For short-term exposure experiments, IL-15 was added only during maturation of DCs. Then, DCs were characterized concerning the expression of MHC II and costimulatory molecules, production of cytokine subunits IL-23p19, IL-12p40, IL-12p35 and cytokine IL-23 via flow cytometry or real-time qPCR or ELISA. Finally, the phosphorylation of signaling molecules after curdlan stimulation was assessed using phospho-flow assays., Results: IL-15 exposure suppressed IL-23 production by DCs. As a result, IL-15-exposed DCs suppressed IL-17 production by allogeneic T cells. Importantly, we observed a reduction in the surface Dectin-1 receptor levels by IL-15-exposed DCs. In line with these observations, curdlan stimulation resulted in reduced phosphorylation of ERK1/2, NF-kB p65 and AKT by human DCs exposed to IL-15 compared with controls. These results may explain why IL-15-exposed DCs produce less IL-23 after maturation with curdlan, which is a ligand of Dectin-1., Conclusion: Short- or long-term exposure to IL-15 of human DCs during their differentiation or maturation programs DCs against Th17 cell polarization, which suggests that IL-15 availability may affect CD4+ T cell-mediated protective immunity to fungal infections., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: No conflict of interest was declared by the authors., (Copyright: © 2019 by Istanbul Northern Anatolian Association of Public Hospitals.)

Objective: Solid pseudopapillary tumor (SPT) of the pancreas is an extremely rare primary tumor in the pediatric age group. It has a low malignant potential and the prognosis is good if radical resection of the tumor is performed. Local recurrence and distant metastasis has only rarely been reported following incomplete resection., Methods: A retrospective review of the medical records of 6 patients diagnosed as SPT according to a histopathological examination at the Children's Hospital of Erciyes University School of Medicine between 2010 and 2017 was performed. Demographic characteristics, tumor localization and size, diagnostic method, immunohistochemical staining features, and medical and surgical treatments employed were recorded., Results: There were 4 girls and 2 boys with the diagnosis of SPT included in this study. The mean age of the patients was 14 years (min-max: 13-16 years). The most common presenting complaint was abdominal pain. The mass lesion was at the head of the pancreas in 3 cases (50%) and the tail of the pancreas in the remaining 3 patients (50%). A Whipple procedure was performed in 3 cases, a distal pancreatectomy in 1, a distal pancreatectomy plus splenectomy in 1, and a subtotal pancreatectomy in 1patient. Immunohistochemistry revealed positive staining for beta-catenin, keratin, CD56, vimentin, and CD10 in all cases., Conclusion: SPT is a rarely seen pancreatic mass with low rate of malignancy. Diagnosis may be delayed due to its asymptomatic nature in most cases and a lack of descriptive symptoms. The survival rate is quite high after radical resection., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: No conflict of interest was declared by the authors.