Background and Aims. Since the war in Ukraine which began on February 2022, many pediatric oncology centers have welcomed patients from Ukraine. To understand the needs of patients and families arriving at our hospital, an anonymous questionnaire investigated the families’ backgrounds, feelings and impressions about hospitality and care. Methods Twenty items investigated how patients had reached Italy, from whom they received help (logistically/economically); emotions regarding their statusas war refugees; knowledge, expectations, and opinions about Italy and Italians; the quality of medical care received and relationships with the healthcare staff; suggestions to improve assistance. Results Questionnaires were completed by 19/32 patient/parents in the time interval May-November 2022 in two different pediatric-oncology centers in the north of Italy. Most families had reached Italy (58%) and received medical care (95%) thanks to the help of Charities and the Italian Public Health Care System. Many of them (69%) declared themselves to be satisfied by the assistance. The Italian population appeared friendly (95%) and generous (58%). The improvement of their stay correlated with the positive outcome of their children (15%), the presence of the whole family (15%), the end of the war (10%), and the overcoming of language barriers (10%) Conclusions. Taking care of children from a different country suffering the traumatic experience of fleeing their country in addition to the equally traumatic condition of cancer disease, is a huge task. Our questionnaire aimed at obtaining a better understanding of families’ conditions, not at bridging the relational gap due to different culture and experiences.

During SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, oncologists manage patients at higher risk of having a severe course of this infection. This raises new questions about their correct management, as well as the difficulty of distinguishing tumor/treatments complications from those related to Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We report a case of an 11 year-old boy undergoing treatment for T cell lymphoblastic lymphoma who experienced a prolonged SARS-CoV-2 infection. Oncological therapy was continued without significant changes compared to the initially planned treatment. No relevant complications occurred. COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CP) was administered, resulting in a positive antibody titer after 24 days.

Background: Children and adolescents with cancer are at risk of a poor health-related quality of life. Exercise interventions to enhance movement may be a valid strategy for managing some symptoms, including fatigue. Methods: Forty-four consecutive patients (20 females; aged 5-21 years old, median 15.5 years), without any contraindications significantly limiting their movements were invited to join an in-hospital 6-week supervised exercise program, and asked afterwards to complete the PedsQL-4.0 quality of life Generic Core Scales and the PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale. The program consisted of personalized workout sessions of aerobic, resistance and flexibility exercises. The results obtained on the scales were compared between patients who engaged in the exercise program (GYM group, n=21) and those who did not (No-GYM, n=23), with the aim of examining the different dimensions of health-related quality of life (physical, emotional, cognitive, social) and fatigue (general, sleep/rest, cognitive) comparing the two groups. Results: For 43 of 44 patients, being diagnosed with cancer initially prompted a drop-out from previous physical exercise or sports routines despite no contraindications to their continuation. After 6 weeks, the scores for patients in the GYM group showed a statistically significant better perceived emotional functioning, and a possible indication of improved social functioning compared with the No-GYM group. Conclusion: These findings suggest that to exercise improves the satisfaction of children and adolescents with cancer with their physical, mental and social functioning. It is worth further investigating the value of systematically including exercise workouts in their routine cancer practices.