May 3, 2005 | A book by Paulette Mehta, M.D., on pediatric bone marrow stem cell transplants drew enthusiastic praise recently in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine for filling an important gap in medical literature.

Mehta, a physician and professor of internal medicine and pediatrics in the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, compiled the book and wrote several chapters.

The book, “Pediatric Stem Cell Transplantation,” is the only one of its kind in that it focuses on pediatric patients.

The Journal reviewed the book in its January issue, calling the compilation “a valuable addition to the field.”

The book also received rave reviews from colleagues that are included on the back cover.

Debra H. Fiser, M.D., chairman of the Department of Pediatrics in the UAMS College of Medicine called the work a “comprehensive scholarly treatise on stem cell transplantation in children.”

“This volume is certain to be consulted frequently by pediatric oncologists, immunologists and consultants who care for these children,” Fiser said.

Jean E. Sanders, M.D., director of pediatric stem cell transplantation at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, said, “A book long overdue for pediatric hematologists, oncologists and transplanters. All who work with children considering or undergoing transplantation will find this text valuable.”

Mehta said her impetus for the book came out of a medical need.

“There was a gap in the literature,” Mehta said. “There are plenty of books about bone marrow stem cell transplants but none focused on transplants for children or young adults. There has just not been enough attention paid to it.”

Several of Mehta’s collaborators for the 486-page book are from UAMS, including:

• Elias Anaissie, M.D., a professor of medicine in the UAMS College of Medicine and director of supportive care in the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy
• Suneetha Challagundla, M.D., a resident at UAMS
• Umaira Latif, a research coordinator of behavioral medicine in the Arkansas Cancer Research Center at UAMS
• Allen C. Sherman, Ph.D., an associate professor of otolaryngology in the UAMS College of Medicine and director of behavioral medicine at the ACRC
• Stephanie Simonton-Atchley, Ph.D., an associate professor of otolaryngology in the UAMS College of Medicine and director of program development of behavioral medicine at the ACRC.

Mehta said she was also proud to have received a contribution from the late Robert A. Good, M.D., Ph.D., who was a distinguished research professor at the University of South Florida, the director of the Children’s Research Institute, physician-in-chief of All Children’s Hospital in Florida.

She said she learned of his untimely death while the book was being finalized.

”Dr. Good was a giant in our field, inarguably the father of modern immunology,” Mehta wrote in the preface. “In 1968, he became the first physician ever to successfully complete a transplant on a patient with severe immunodeficiency, using allogeneic stem cells. This patient is alive and well – the longest survivor of a stem cell transplant.

“I am humbled by the thought that one of the great pioneers of stem cell transplantation and of immunology completed the last great chapter of his life by summarizing his life’s achievements in a chapter for this book,” she wrote.

Mehta said the book was important because of the biological differences in children and adults, specifically on issues concerning stem cell transplants. The disorders that affect children are different than those in adults, she said, and the developmental biology is different, which can contribute to the differences in risk and benefit from transplants.

“In children, the life expectancy is longer, so complications can manifest in many different ways,” Mehta said. “For example, a second malignancy can take as many as 15 years to develop.”

The addresses the major dimensions – both scientific and clinical – of these life-saving and life-improving procedures. The 24 chapters include contributions from world exports in pediatric hematology-oncology, immunology, pathology and pediatrics.

Published in 2004, the book includes the latest thinking and technology concerning transplants.  There is also an “ethical concerns” chapter that provides the latest information on issues of informed consent, privacy and commercial implications.

Mehta said she was thrilled with the positive response to the book. “It is a unique resource on a topic for which there is no other book or guide,” she said.

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