Reports and Findings

Research

Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is the most common paediatric malignancy and remains one of the most common causes of cancer-related death in children and adolescents. It is characterised by the proliferation of immature lymphoid cells capable of infiltrating bone marrow, blood and extramedullary sites. Five-year overall survival rates exceed 90% with current multidrug chemotherapeutic regimens. This manuscript reviews the abdominal imaging features of leukaemic infiltration in children with ALL at the time of initial diagnosis and following relapse.

Research

Extreme heat exposure is a major global public health threat that is affecting people across the life course, including the pregnancy period. Studies have linked extreme heat with adverse pregnancy and newborn health outcomes globally.

Research

The capacity for children to self-regulate is an important developmental task of early childhood, with caregivers playing an integral role in self-regulation development. While caregivers' emotions and behaviors are known to impact child self-regulatory capacity, the impact of child self-regulation difficulties on parents is less understood. 

Research

Rishi S. Kotecha MB ChB (Hons) MRCPCH FRACP PhD Co-Head, Leukaemia Translational Research rishi.kotecha@health.wa.gov.au Co-Head, Leukaemia Translational Research Areas of research expertise: Preclinical and clinical leukaemia research; Supportive

Research

Preterm birth is increasingly recognised as adversely influencing lifelong lung function. This Series paper on prematurity-associated lung disease reviews studies reporting longitudinal lung function measurements in individuals who were born preterm. Evidence suggests that preterm birth alters lung function trajectories from early life onwards, with implications for future respiratory morbidity. We propose that this population needs rigorous follow up that should include systematic monitoring of lung function across the lifespan, starting in childhood.

Research

In 2024, the government of Western Australia introduced 'nirsevimab', a monoclonal antibody offering protection from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), for eligible infants. This study explores why parents of infants who were eligible to receive nirsevimab opted to decline or delay the immunisation.

Research

Advertising and marketing by the alcohol industry serve to normalise alcohol use, with exposure to alcohol advertising linked to earlier and riskier drinking among young people. Advertising that portrays alcohol use in and around waterways is of particular concern, with one in five fatal drownings being associated with alcohol.

Research

CD8+ T cells are an important weapon in the therapeutic armamentarium against cancer. While CD8+CD103+ T cells with a tissue-resident memory T (TRM) cell phenotype are associated with favorable prognoses, the tumor microenvironment also contains dysfunctional exhausted T (TEX) cells that exhibit a variety of TRM-like features.

Research

This study aimed to examine the difference in levels of psychological wellbeing outcomes of binary and non-binary transgender and cisgender students aged 8–18 years in South Australia using population-level data.

Research

Asthma remission has emerged as a potential therapeutic goal. However, definitions of remission have primarily focused on adult populations, with limited consensus on how remission should be defined in children.