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Background: Brain metastases are uncommon among children with solid tumors. However, improvements in survival have increased the period of time during which children are at risk for developing these metastases. The authors reviewed brain metastases in children with solid tumors treated at the Centre Léon Bérard during the 9 years between 1987 and 1995., Methods: Among 486 patients with solid tumors, 162 eventually developed distant metastases in their disease process, including 12 brain metastases detected by imaging. The tumor type, clinical setting, imaging characteristics, treatment modalities, and outcome were assessed for each patient., Results: The most common tumors causing brain metastases were Ewing's sarcoma (in three patients), neuroblastoma (in three patients), and osteogenic sarcoma (in three patients). At the time of initial diagnosis, 9 of the 12 patients had metastatic disease. All but one patient initially received intensive multiagent chemotherapy, including high dose chemotherapy with bone marrow rescue in six patients. The median time from initial diagnosis to the detection of brain metastases was 15 months. These metastases were clinically detectable in 10 patients and subclinical in 2 patients. Brain metastases were present at the time of first relapse in five patients. In two patients, the brain was the only site of relapse. All other patients had extensive systemic disease. Seven patients had multiple brain metastases. Two children underwent surgical resection of solitary metastases, and eight were irradiated. One child achieved complete remission following chemotherapy and irradiation. All other children died, mostly of their systemic disease, within a median period of 3 months., Conclusions: The introduction of effective systemic chemotherapy has changed the patterns of brain metastases in children. The increasing incidence of these metastases in patients with sarcoma and neuroblastoma suggests that the brain is a pharmacologically protected site in patients initially diagnosed with metastatic disease.

From 1970 to 1992, 31 pure ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the male breast treated in 19 French Regional Cancer Centres were reviewed. They represent 5% of all breast cancers treated in men in the same period. The median age was 58 years, but 6 patients were younger than 40 years. TNM classification (UICC, 1978) showed 12 T0 (discovered only by bloody nipple discharge), 10 T1, 5 T2 and four unclassified tumours (Tx). 11 patients (35.5%) had clinical gynecomastia, and three (10%) had a family history of breast cancer. 6 patients underwent lumpectomy, and 25 mastectomy. Axillary dissection was performed in 19 cases. 6 cases received postoperative irradiation. 15 out of 31 lesions were of the papillary subtype, pure or associated with a cribriform component. The size of the 12 measured lesions varied from 3 to 45 mm. All lymph nodes sampled were negative. With a median follow-up of 83 months, 4 patients (13%) presented a local relapse (LR), respectively, at 12, 27, 36 and 55 months. 3 of these patients had been initially treated by lumpectomy. In one case LR was still in situ, but already infiltrating in the 3 others. Radical salvage surgery was performed in 3 cases, but one patient developed metastases and died 30 months later. The last patient was treated by multiple local excisions and tamoxifen. One 43-year-old patient developed a contralateral DCIS and three others developed a metachronous cancer. The aetiology and risk factors of male breast cancer remain unknown. Gynecomastia, which implies an imbalance between androgen and oestrogen, may be a predisposing factor. As in women, DCIS in the male breast has a good prognosis. Total mastectomy without axillary dissection is the basic treatment. Frequently, the first symptom is a bloody nipple discharge. The age of occurrence is younger than for infiltrating carcinoma, suggesting that DCIS is the first step in the development of breast cancer.

From 1960 to 1986, 397 cases of non-metastatic male breast cancer (MBC) treated in 14 French regional cancer centres were reviewed. The median age was 64 years (range 25-93). TNM classification (UICC, 1978) showed seven T0, 79 T1, 162 T2, 31 T3, 74 T4 and 44 unclassified tumours (Tx). Clinical positive lymph nodes were found in 31% of the patients. 24 patients received radiotherapy only, and 373 underwent surgery, 247 of these with postoperative irradiation. Adjuvant chemotherapy and hormonal therapy were used in 71 and 68 patients, respectively. There were 382 infiltrating carcinomas and 15 pure ductal carcinoma in situ. Lymph node involvement was found in 56% of infiltrating carcinoma. The oestrogen (ER) and progesterone (PgR) receptors were positive in 79% and 77%, respectively, of examined cases. Isolated local and regional recurrence were observed in 8.8% and 4.5% of cases, respectively and 40% of patients developed metastases. The crude survival rates by Kaplan-Meier method were 65% and 38% at 5 and 10 years, respectively, and the disease-specific survival rates (without death due to intercurrent disease or second cancer) was 74% at 5 years and 51% at 10 years. The disease-specific survival rate for pN- and pN+ groups were 77% and 39% at 10 years. The prognostic factors were clinical size (T) and histological axillary status (pN-/pN+). The relative risk of death for pN- was 1.0, 2.0 and 3.2 in the T0-T1, T2 and T3-T4 groups, respectively. For pN+, these relative risks increased 1.9, 3.9 and 6.0 in the same groups. The optimal treatment include modified radical mastectomy and irradiation for cases with risk factors of local relapse (nodal invasion, large tumour with cutaneous or muscular involvement). Locoregional failure had unfavourable prognosis. First-line adjuvant treatment seems to be tamoxifen, due to the very high rate of positive hormonal receptors and the old age of the patients, which contraindicate chemotherapy in many cases. The prognosis of patients with breast cancer is the same in male and female patients when disease-specific survival rate, tumour size and axillary involvement are compared.

A 26-year-old woman delivered a normal child 5 years after bone marrow transplantation for severe aplastic anemia. The conditioning regimen comprised high dose cyclophosphamide and thoraco-abdominal irradiation (6 Gy). This and two previous cases demonstrate that normal pregnancy can follow total body or thoracoabdominal irradiation.