The Paediatric Neuro-Oncology Programme at KKH Children’s Blood and Cancer Centre treats children and teenagers with any tumour arising from the central nervous system (CNS) i.e. brain or spinal cord. The multidisciplinary team includes neurosurgeons, paediatric neuro-oncologists, radiation oncologists, paediatric neurologists, neuro-rehabilitation team, neuro-ophthalmologists, alongside the full support of tertiary paediatric services in a child-friendly environment. Our programme aims to deliver comprehensive state-of-the-art cancer care and treatment for children with brain tumours, focusing on precision diagnosis and holistic multidisciplinary therapies.
Additional evaluations may be required to assess the child’s general medical fitness before surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy or other treatment procedures.
The management of brain tumours often requires multi-modality treatment, and depends on the exact brain tumour type/subtype as well as the tumour location and extent The treatment may require a combination of the following modalities:
The Solid Tumour Programme at KKH Children’s Blood and Cancer Centre treats children and teenagers with any tumour arising from various anatomical sites throughout the body. The types of solid tumours in young patients are generally different from those seen in adult patients, requiring a specialized team of childhood cancer specialists and the full support of tertiary paediatric services in a child-friendly environment. Our Solid Tumour Programme aims to deliver comprehensive state-of-the-art cancer care and treatment, focusing on precision diagnosis and holistic multidisciplinary therapies including advanced therapeutics.
Every child suspected to have a solid tumour should undergo a comprehensive evaluation for precise diagnosis of the cancer type and for evaluation of the extent of any cancer spread (i.e. staging). The evaluations can therefore include the following:
Additional evaluations may be required to assess the child’s general medical fitness before surgery, chemotherapy or other treatment procedures.
The management of solid tumours often requires multi-modality treatment, and depends on the exact cancer type/subtype as well as the cancer staging or risk stratification. The treatment may require a combination of the following modalities:
In addition, our dedicated team of allied health professionals help to provide supportive and adjunctive care to ensure safe and holistic cancer treatment for the child. These include physical and occupational therapists, child psychologists, neuropsychologists, nutrition and dietetics specialists, medical social workers, child life specialists.
Established in 1998 , the KKH Blood and Marrow Transplant and Cell Therapy (BMTCT) programme is a comprehensive multidisciplinary clinical and research programme for malignant and non-malignant (e.g. transfusion-dependent thalassemia, bone marrow failure syndrome, primary immunodeficiency disorders, certain genetic metabolic conditions) conditions in children. We strive to perform leading-edge transplants and cell therapies centred around achieving the best possible survival outcomes and quality of life for our patients. Our highly specialised clinical and translational teams continue to explore innovative and tailored approaches to cure devastating diseases. The recent advances in cell processing technology have enabled more complex and precise graft manipulation and cell engineering. Mismatched or haploidentical hematopoietic cell transplant can now be performed safely, resulting in greater availability of donors and enabling more patients with devastating diseases to be treated. Cellular therapy such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is a new and rapidly advancing pillar of cancer treatment that has also taken off in the healthcare landscape and available in KKH.
The Malignant Haematology programme at KK Women's and Children's Hospital treats children with haematological cancers. The primary aim of the programme is to provide comprehensive care and strive on to improve the cure rates for childhood leukaemias and lymphomas while minimizing treatment related adverse effects. Precision medicine by individualizing chemotherapy and novel immunotherapy treatment is now possible based on sophisticated diagnostic investigations, identification of prognostic markers through collaborative research. Cure at least cost by identification children who can be cured with less therapy and intensifying treatment in high risk group with introduction of molecularly targeted therapy and immunotherapy based on cutting edge molecular genetics and other newer investigation techniques is our primary goal.
The Benign Haematology programme at KK Women's and Children's Hospital treats children with bleeding disorders and transfusion-dependent anaemias. Other conditions treated at our centre include cytopaenias, bone marrow failure and paediatric thrombotic disorders. We are a Comprehensive Haemophilia Treatment Centre and offer multidisciplinary care of children with bleeding disorders with a dedicated haemophilia nurse, physiotherapist and medical social worker. We aim to lead in the care of children with benign haematological conditions through research, education and advocacy.
Our dedicated team of allied health professionals, child life specialists and palliative care physicians help to provide supportive and adjunctive care to ensure safe and holistic cancer treatment for the child.
Children's Cancer Foundation (CCF) Psychosocial Supportive Care Programme (PSCP)
The PSCP provides holistic, timely and tailored psychosocial care via neuro-psychosocial, rehabilitation, and dietetics/nutritional support.
Psychology
When a child is diagnosed with cancer, the child and their family experienced a range of emotions including shock, grief, anger, and guilt. Our psychologists provide assessments and interventions to help them cope with the emotional, behavioural, cognitive/academic challenges experienced as a result of childhood cancer.
Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation is a crucial aspect of recovery for children with cancer. Our physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and music therapists, help to optimise their everyday skills and quality of life.
Nutrition and Dietetics
Children undergoing treatment are at risk of not getting enough nutrients due to the nature of cancer and treatment side-effects, e.g. nausea and poor appetite. Maintaining a good nutritional status can help children undergoing treatment to resist infection, improve their tolerance to treatment and support appropriate growth and development.
Paediatric Palliative Service
Paediatric palliative service started in KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital in 2004, and is the first Paediatric Palliative programme in Singapore. The service looks after children with life-limiting oncology and non-oncology illnesses, who require symptom control as well as psychosocial support. The paediatric palliative care service also facilitates end-of-life discussions and provides bereavement support. The hospital program works closely with the palliative services in the community, namely StarPALS from HCA Hospice Care.
The Children’s Cancer Foundation (CCF)-KKH Childhood Cancer Survivorship Programme was established in 2017 for paediatric cancer, haematopoietic stem cell transplant and cell therapy recipients after completion of therapy and beyond. The mission of this comprehensive programme is to improve the quality of life of children with cancer and their families beyond the treatment of their cancer, by early detection, treatment and prevention of late effects, while empowering cancer survivors with knowledge of their own disease and late effects.
The survivorship workgroup consists of a multi-professional team, including a core team of paediatric oncologists, radiation oncologist, endocrinologist and nurse clinician, as well as various other medical specialties who have stakeholdership in the long-term health of cancer survivors. Multi-disciplinary meetings are held fortnightly to discuss the patients seen. The cancer history and treatment exposures are reviewed, and care plans are developed for each patient based on published guidelines. All patients receive a survivorship folder which provides the individualised survivorship care plans that empower survivors with knowledge about their cancer diagnosis and treatment, address the chronic effects of cancer and its therapy, provide monitoring recommendations to allow for early identification of treatment-related sequelae, and promote health-protective behaviours.
Cancer predisposition syndrome is an inherited genetic condition that increases the likelihood of an individual to develop cancers at an earlier age compared to the general population. Based on international and local data, it is estimated that around 10% of children with cancer have an underlying cancer predisposition. Patients and families with concerns of possible cancer predisposition will be referred for a cancer genetics consultation for counseling and testing. Results from cancer genetics testing may help understand cancer risk and guide surveillance and management strategies.
More information on Cancer Genetics can be found here.
Multi-Disciplinary Management of Complex Vascular Anomalies: The KKH Multl-Disciplinary Vascular Anomalies Clinic
The treatment of complex vascular anomalies requires a multi-disciplinary and multi-modality approach, often involving input from various sub-specialties. The KKH Multi-Disciplinary Vascular Anomalies Team at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) comprises experts in the fields of dermatology, interventional radiology, paediatric haematology-oncology, plastic surgery, paediatric surgery, and orthopaedic surgery. Other subspecialties that contribute to the diagnosis and management of patients include genetics, paediatric gastroenterology, respiratory, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, and psychology.
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