Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41641640›Full record

ArticleHaematologica2026

Successful re-exposure to high-dose methotrexate after severely delayed methotrexate elimination and renal toxicity in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Shlomit Barzilai-Birenboim, Nira Arad-Cohen, Edit Bardi, Jesper Heldrup, Gábor Kovács, Marion Mateos, Anja Moericke, Natanja Oosterom, Saskia Sonnenberg, Freya Steinhauer and 7 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Haematologica, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

17 authors.

Shlomit Barzilai-BirenboimDepartment of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel, Petach Tikva, and Aviv University's Gray Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. shlombiren@gmail.com.
Nira Arad-CohenDepartment of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, Ruth Rappaport Children's Hospital, Rambam Health Care Campus, and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa.
Edit BardiSt Anna Children's Hospital, Vienna, Austria, St Anna Children´s Cancer Institute, Vienna, Austria, Medical University Vienna, Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Kepler University Hospital, Linz, Austria, St. Anna Children's Cancer Research Institute (CCRI), Vienna.
Jesper HeldrupChildhood Cancer and Research Unit, University Children's Hospital, SE-221 85 Lund.
Gábor KovácsDepartment of Pediatrics, Semmelweis University, Budapest.
Marion MateosKids Cancer Centre, Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, NSW, Australia, Faculty of Medicine and Health, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW, Australia; Children's Cancer Institute, Health Translational Hub, 55 Botany St, Randwick, NSW.
Anja MoerickeDepartment of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine I, Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, ALLBFM Study Group, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Kiel.
Natanja OosteromUniversity Medical Center, Utrecht.
Saskia SonnenbergDepartment of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine I, Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, ALLBFM Study Group, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Kiel.
Freya SteinhauerDepartment of Family Medicine, University of Groningen.
Goda E VaitkevičienėCenter for Pediatric Oncology and Hematology, Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos, Vilnius, Lithuania; Vilnius University, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Clinic of Children's Diseases, Vilnius, Lithuania.
Inge M Van der SluisPrincess Maxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht.
Sigal M WeinrebDepartment of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem.
Ester ZapotockaDepartment of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Hospital Motol and Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.
David ZuckerDepartment of Statistics and Data Science, Hebrew University, Jerusalem.
Kjeld SchmiegelowDepartment of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital. DK-2100, Denmark.
Torben Stamm MikkelsenDepartment of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

High-dose methotrexate (HDMTX) is a cornerstone of contemporary treatment protocols for both pediatric and adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL); however, up to 4% of children and 15% of adults develop renal toxicity with severely delayed MTX elimination (DME). Evidence-based guidance on re-exposure after DME is lacking, and omission of further HDMTX may compromise anti-leukemic efficacy and potentially increase the risk of relapse. This study, conducted within the Ponte di Legno International Toxicity Working Group, aimed to evaluate the safety of HDMTX re-challenge in pediatric patients after DME. National investigators from 12 countries provided case-level data on initial DME events and subsequent HDMTX re-exposures via structured questionnaires. Data from 189 patients treated for ALL who experienced DME were analyzed, of whom 143 were subsequently re-exposed to HDMTX. Clinical toxicities after the initial DME included gastrointestinal complications (vomiting, diarrhea, mucositis), infections, and neurological events (encephalopathy, seizures, MTX stroke-like syndrome). Laboratory toxicities comprised cytopenias and hepatic abnormalities. Two patients transiently required dialysis. DME led to chemotherapy modifications in 73% of the patients. After re-exposure, toxicities were similar in spectrum, self-limited, and non-fatal. Twenty children (14%) developed recurrent DME, including three with two additional episodes. Recurrent DME could neither be predicted by clinical, pharmacokinetic, or demographic variables, nor by uniform MTX dose reduction during re-exposure. In conclusion, re-exposure to HDMTX following DME is feasible and generally well tolerated, although the risk of recurrence is increased. Re-challenge should be considered once renal function has normalized, with careful monitoring and individualized dose adjustment.

Indexed as

Antimetabolites, AntineoplasticKidney DiseasesMethotrexatePrecursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-LymphomaAdolescentChildChild, PreschoolFemaleHumansInfantMaleTreatment OutcomeAntimetabolites, AntineoplasticMethotrexate

Identifiers

PMID41641640
PMCPMC13482239

What OpenQuestion holds

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Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.