Gut bacterial gene changes following pegaspargase treatment in pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Metabolism of asparagine in the physiological state and cancer

Asparagine, an important amino acid in mammals, is produced in several organs and is widely used for the production of other nutrients such as glucose, proteins, lipids, and nucleotides. Asparagine has also been reported to play a vital role in the development of cancer cells. Although several types of cancer cells can synthesise asparagine alone, their synthesis levels are insufficient to meet their requirements. These cells must rely on the supply of exogenous asparagine, which is why asparagine is considered a semi-essential amino acid. Therefore, nutritional inhibition by targeting asparagine is often considered as an anti-cancer strategy and has shown success in the treatment of leukaemia. However, asparagine limitation alone does not achieve an ideal therapeutic effect because of stress responses that upregulate asparagine synthase (ASNS) to meet the requirements for asparagine in cancer cells. Various cancer cells initiate different reprogramming processes in response to the deficiency of asparagine. Therefore, it is necessary to comprehensively understand the asparagine metabolism in cancers. This review primarily discusses the physiological role of asparagine and the current progress in the field of cancer research.

Challenges in Management of VTE in Children With Cancer: Risk Factors and Treatment Options

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) occurs in 2.1 to up to 50% of children with cancer and contributes to long term morbidity as well as early mortality in this population. Pediatric patients with malignancy are predisposed to VTE due to the prothrombotic nature of cancer and its associated coagulopathies as well as chemotherapeutic agents, use of central venous catheters, surgery, radiotherapy, and concomitant thrombophilia. Management of thrombosis in this population is challenging due to concomitant thrombocytopenia, associated bleeding risks, concurrent co-morbidities, and toxicities of therapy. The aim of this paper is to highlight clinically relevant issues and management dilemmas using clinical vignettes. We review the clinical significance of asymptomatic and symptomatic thrombosis, examine the various options for asparaginase-associated thrombosis, address the role and controversies of direct oral anticoagulants, and describe our approach to managing anticoagulation therapy in the context of chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia.