Overview

My primary area of interest is in the biology, management, and late effects of childhood brain and spinal cord tumors. I participate in the Children's Oncology Group (COG), a North American multi-institutional collaboration in treatment of childhood cancer and clinical and supportive care trials. I also participate in the Canadian Pediatric Brain Tumour Consortium, where we collaborate nationally in conducting research in pediatric brain tumors. Locally, I participate in research at the clinical level where treatments, quality of life, late effects of treatments, and other clinically-related questions are evaluated.

Publications

Canadian Consensus for Treatment of BRAF V600E Mutated Pediatric and AYA Gliomas
Current Oncology
DOI: 10.3390/curroncol31070299
2024

Developmental and epileptic encephalopathies after successful treatment of pediatric ALL: A case series and review of literature
Epileptic Disorders
DOI: 10.1002/epd2.20280
2024

Proton Therapy in Canada: Toward Universal Access and Health Equity With a Publicly Funded Facility
International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics
Safavi, A.H. and Freeman, C. and Cheng, S. and Patel, S. and Mitera, G. and Kundapur, V. and Rutledge, R. and Tsang, D.S.
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2022.12.021
2023

Real-world experience of tyrosine kinase inhibitors in children, adolescents and adults with relapsed or refractory bone tumours: A Canadian Sarcoma Research and Clinical Collaboration (CanSaRCC) study
Cancer Medicine
DOI: 10.1002/cam4.6515
2023

Neuroimaging to diagnose central nervous system tumours in children,La neuro-imagerie pour diagnostiquer des tumeurs au système nerveux central chez l’enfant
Canadian Family Physician
DOI: 10.46747/cfp.6903165
2023

Outcomes of a radiation sparing approach in medulloblastoma by subgroup in young children: an institutional review
Child's Nervous System
DOI: 10.1007/s00381-023-05918-z
2023

Retrospective dataset and survey analyses identify gaps in data collection for craniopharyngioma and priorities of patients and families affected by the disease
Neoplasia (United States)
Marshall, E. and Joshi, N. and Crowley, J. and McCormack, S. and Cheng, S. and Faig, W. and Storm, P.B. and Resnick, A. and Mueller, S. and Malbari, F. and Kline, C.
DOI: 10.1016/j.neo.2022.100873
2023

Impact of Time to Diagnosis on Morbidity and Survival in Children with Malignant Central Nervous System Tumors
Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
DOI: 10.1097/MPH.0000000000002424
2023

Physician, patient, and caregiver support for a formal certification in pediatric neuro-oncology: A survey-based report from the SNO pediatrics working group
Neuro-Oncology Advances
DOI: 10.1093/noajnl/vdad130
2023

Whole genome transcriptome analysis in a case of a neonatal soft tissue sarcoma with YWHAE:NUTM2B fusion
Pediatric Blood and Cancer
DOI: 10.1002/pbc.30310
2023

RARE-13. Clinical management and functional and survival outcomes in pediatric craniopharyngioma, a patient and family perspective
Neuro-Oncology
Emily Marshall and Sylvia Cheng and Julia Crowley and Shana McCormack and Brian Rood and Todd Hankinson and Michael DeCuypere and Sandy Lam and Stewart Goldman and Svenja Boekhoff and Hermann L Muller and Ryan Velasco and Phillip B Storm and Adam Resnick and Michael Prados and Sabine Mueller and Cassie Kline and Fatema Malbari
DOI: 10.1093/neuonc/noac079.038
06/2022

LGG-08. MR Imaging of pediatric low-grade gliomas: Pretherapeutic differentiation ofBRAF V600E mutation,BRAF-Fused and Wild-Type tumors in patients without Neurofibromatosis-1
Neuro-Oncology
Andrew Trasolini and Craig Erker and Sylvia Cheng and Cameron Crowell and Kathryn McFadden and Rahim Moineddin and Michael Sargent and Daddy Mata-Mbemba
DOI: 10.1093/neuonc/noac079.324
06/2022

RARE-17. Multi-institutional craniopharyngioma cohort highlights need for more comprehensive data collection on comorbidities and quality of life
Neuro-Oncology
Emily Marshall and Julia Crowley and Shana McCormack and Brian Rood and Todd Hankinson and Sylvia Cheng and Michael DeCuypere and Sandi Lam and Stewart Goldman and Lance Ballester and Walter Faig and Ryan Velasco and Kamnaa Arya and Phillip Jay B Storm and Adam Resnick and Michael Prados and Sabine Mueller and Fatema Malbari and Cassie Kline
DOI: 10.1093/neuonc/noac079.042
06/2022

Accuracy of central neuro-imaging review of DIPG compared with histopathology in the International DIPG Registry
Neuro-Oncology
Lazow, M.A. and Fuller, C. and Dewire, M. and Lane, A. and Bandopadhayay, P. and Bartels, U. and Bouffet, E. and Cheng, S. and Cohen, K.J. and Cooney, T.M. and Coven, S.L. and Dholaria, H. and Diez, B. and Dorris, K. and El-Ayadi, M. and El-Sheikh, A. and Fisher, P.G. and Fonseca, A. and Garcia Lombardi, M. and Greiner, R.J. and Goldman, S. and Gottardo, N. and Gururangan, S. and Hansford, J.R. and Hassall, T. and Hawkins, C. and Kilburn, L. and Koschmann, C. and Leary, S.E. and Ma, J. and Minturn, J.E. and Monje-Deisseroth, M. and Packer, R. and Samson, Y. and Sandler, E.S. and Sevlever, G. and Tinkle, C.L. and Tsui, K. and Wagner, L.M. and Zaghloul, M. and Ziegler, D.S. and Chaney, B. and Black, K. and Asher, A. and Drissi, R. and Fouladi, M. and Jones, B.V. and Leach, J.L.
DOI: 10.1093/neuonc/noab245
2022

MR Imaging of Pediatric Low-Grade Gliomas: Pretherapeutic Differentiation of BRAF V600E Mutation, BRAF Fusion, and Wild-Type Tumors in Patients without Neurofibromatosis-1
American Journal of Neuroradiology
Trasolini, A. and Erker, C. and Cheng, S. and Crowell, C. and McFadden, K. and Moineddin, R. and Sargent, M.A. and Mata-Mbemba, D.
DOI: 10.3174/ajnr.A7574
2022

Human complete NFAT1 deficiency causes a triad of joint contractures, osteochondromas, and B-cell malignancy
Blood
Sharma, M. and Fu, M.P. and Lu, H.Y. and Sharma, A.A. and Modi, B.P. and Michalski, C. and Lin, S. and Dalmann, J. and Salman, A. and Del Bel, K.L. and Waqas, M. and Terry, J. and Setiadi, A. and Lavoie, P.M. and Wasserman, W.W. and Mwenifumbo, J. and Kobor, M.S. and Lee, A.F. and Kuchenbauer, F. and Lehman, A. and Cheng, S. and Cooper, A. and Patel, M.S. and Turvey, S.E.
DOI: 10.1182/blood.2022015674
2022

Cutaneous precursor T-lymphoblastic lymphoma in a child
Pediatric Blood and Cancer
Kaur, D. and Arneja, J.S. and Senger, C. and Chipperfield, K. and Lam, J. and Cheng, S.
DOI: 10.1002/pbc.29635
2022

Primary cutaneous follicle center lymphoma of the medial canthus of the eye in an 11-year old
Pediatric Blood and Cancer
D'Alessandro, P.R. and Lo, A.C. and Spencer, M.H. and Farinha, P. and Armstrong, L. and Dolman, P.J. and Cheng, S.
DOI: 10.1002/pbc.29630
2022

Low-grade diffusely infiltrative tumour (LGDIT), SMARCB1-mutant: A clinical and histopathological distinct entity showing epigenetic similarity with ATRT-MYC
Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology
Hasselblatt, M. and Thomas, C. and Federico, A. and Bens, S. and Hellström, M. and Casar-Borota, O. and Kordes, U. and Neumann, J.E. and Dottermusch, M. and Rodriguez, F.J. and Lo, A.C. and Cheng, S. and Hendson, G. and Hukin, J. and Hartmann, C. and Koch, A. and Capper, D. and Siebert, R. and Paulus, W. and Nemes, K. and Johann, P.D. and Frühwald, M.C. and Kool, M.
DOI: 10.1111/nan.12797
2022

Human germline biallelic complete NFAT1 deficiency causes the triad of progressive joint contractures, osteochondromas, and susceptibility to B cell malignancy
medRxiv
Sharma, M. and Fu, M.P. and Lu, H.Y. and Sharma, A.A. and Modi, B.P. and Michalski, C. and Lin, S. and Dalmann, J. and Salman, A. and Del Bel, K.L. and Waqas, M. and Terry, J. and Setiadi, A. and Lavoie, P.M. and Wasserman, W.W. and Mwenifumbo, J. and Kobor, M.S. and Lee, A.F. and Lehman, A. and Cheng, S. and Cooper, A. and Patel, M.S. and Turvey, S.E.
DOI: 10.1101/2022.01.30.22269378
2022

An international study evaluating the epidemiology of intracranial germ cell tumors in the native versus immigrant Japanese populations: the need for an international registry
Journal of Neuro-Oncology
Plant-Fox, A.S. and Suzuki, T. and Diaz Coronado, R.Y. and Epelman, S. and Sakamoto, L. and Cheng, S. and Yanagisawa, T. and Rosner, B. and Chi, S.N. and Kieran, M.W.
DOI: 10.1007/s11060-022-04094-5
2022

Perceived Barriers to the Time to Diagnosis of Central Nervous System Tumors in Children: Surveying the Perspectives from the Frontline
Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
DOI: 10.1097/MPH.0000000000002245
2021

Trametinib therapy for children with neurofibromatosis type 1 and life-threatening plexiform neurofibroma or treatment-refractory low-grade glioma
Cancer Medicine
Ronsley, R. and Hounjet, C.D. and Cheng, S. and Rassekh, S.R. and Duncan, W.J. and Dunham, C. and Gardiner, J. and Ghag, A. and Ludemann, J.P. and Wensley, D. and Rehmus, W. and Sargent, M.A. and Hukin, J.
DOI: 10.1002/cam4.3910
2021

NTRK2 Fusion driven pediatric glioblastoma: Identification of oncogenic Drivers via integrative Genome and transcriptome profiling
Clinical Case Reports
Britton, H.M. and Levine, A.B. and Shen, Y. and Mungall, K. and Serrano, J. and Snuderl, M. and Pleasance, E. and Jones, S.J.M. and Laskin, J. and Marra, M.A. and Rassekh, S.R. and Deyell, R. and Yip, S. and Cheng, S. and Dunham, C.
DOI: 10.1002/ccr3.3804
2021

A case series of pediatric survivors of anaplastic pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma
Neuro-Oncology Advances
Ronsley, R. and Dunham, C. and Yip, S. and Brown, L. and Zuccato, J.A. and Karimi, S. and Zadeh, G. and Goddard, K. and Singhal, A. and Hukin, J. and Cheng, S.
DOI: 10.1093/noajnl/vdaa176
2021

EPID-08. FINDING THE NEEDLE IN THE HAY STACK – POPULATION-BASED STUDY OF PREDIAGNOSTIC SYMPTOMATIC INTERVAL IN CHILDREN WITH CNS TUMORS
Neuro-oncology
Lambert C and Goldman R and Cochrane D and Dahiya A and Mah H and Buttar A and Cheng S
12/2020

Finding the Needle in the Hay Stack: Population-based Study of Prediagnostic Symptomatic Interval in Children With CNS Tumors.
Journal of pediatric hematology/oncology
Goldman RD and Cochrane DD and Dahiya A and Mah H and Buttar A and Lambert C and Cheng S
DOI: 10.1097/mph.0000000000002012
PubMed: 33235150
11/2020

NCOG-73. EFFECT OF TIME TO DIAGNOSIS IN CHILDREN WITH MALIGNANT CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM TUMORS ON SURVIVAL OUTCOMES AND DISEASE-ASSOCIATED MORBIDITY: AN INSTITUTIONAL COHORT STUDY
Neuro-Oncology
Rebecca Ronsley and Mike Irvine and Mehima Kang and Ran Goldman and Sylvia Cheng
DOI: 10.1093/neuonc/noaa215.611
11/2020

Anaphylaxis to parenteral nutrition in a pediatric oncology patient treated with induction of drug tolerance protocol.
The journal of allergy and clinical immunology. In practice
Wachnian CJ and Baadjes B and Cheng S and Ramanzin A and Hildebrand KJ
DOI: 10.1016/j.jaip.2020.10.016
PubMed: 33096267
10/2020

NFB-12. TRAMETINIB THERAPY FOR PEDIATRIC PATIENTS WITH REFRACTORY LOW GRADE GLIOMA OR EXTENSIVE SYMPTOMATIC PLEXIFORM NEUROFIBROMA
Neuro-Oncology
Celine D Hounjet and Rebecca Ronsley and Sylvia Cheng and S Rod Rassekh and Walter J Duncan and Christopher Dunham and Jane Gardiner and Arvindera Ghag and Jeffrey P, Ludemann and David Wensley and Wingfield Rehmus and Michael A Sargent and Naomi Evans and Vesna Popovska and Juliette Hukin
DOI: 10.1093/neuonc/noaa222.615
2020

Intracranial Germ Cell Tumors in Adolescents and Young Adults: A 40-Year Multi-Institutional Review of Outcomes
International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics
Lo, A.C. and Hodgson, D. and Dang, J. and Tyldesley, S. and Bouffet, E. and Bartels, U. and Cheng, S. and Hukin, J. and Bedard, P.L. and Goddard, K. and Laperriere, N.
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2019.10.020
2020

SWK-08. DELAYED DIAGNOSIS OF CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM (CNS) TUMORS IN CHILDREN: PERSPECTIVE FROM THE FRONTLINE
Neuro-Oncology
Manisha Jogendran and Rebecca Ronsley and Ran D Goldman and Sylvia Cheng
DOI: 10.1093/neuonc/noaa222.825
2020

LGG-19. SPINAL LOW-GRADE GLIOMAS IN CANADIAN CHILDREN: A MULTI-CENTRE RETROSPECTIVE REVIEW
Neuro-Oncology
Hallie Coltin and Savvy Benipal and S Rod Rassekh and Liana Figueiredo Nobre and Julie Bennett and Uri Tabori and Bev Wilson and Vivek Mehta and Wendy Beaudoin and Shayna Zelcer and Sylvia Cheng and Juliette Hukin and Cynthia Hawkins and Eric Bouffet and Donna Johnston
DOI: 10.1093/neuonc/noaa222.401
2020

GCT-59. EPIDEMIOLOGY OF PEDIATRIC INTRA-CRANIAL GERM CELL TUMORS: COMPARING THE INCIDENCE OF INTRA-CRANIAL GERM CELL TUMORS IN THE NATIVE JAPANESE POPULATION AND IMMIGRANT JAPANESE POPULATIONS ABROAD
Neuro-Oncology
Ashley Plant and Tomonari Suzuki and Rosdaili Diaz Coronado and Sidnei Epelman and Luis Sakamoto and Sylvia Cheng and Takaaki Yanagisawa and Bernard Rosner and Susan Chi and Mark Kieran
DOI: 10.1093/neuonc/noaa222.276
2020

HGG-35. PEDIATRIC PLEOMORPHIC XANTHOASTROCYTOMA WITH ANAPLASIA TREATED WITH SURGERY AND ADJUVANT CHEMOTHERAPY: A CASE SERIES OF 3 LONG-TERM SURVIVORS
Neuro-Oncology
Rebecca Ronsley and Christopher Dunham and Stephen Yip and Juliette Hukin and Sylvia Cheng
DOI: 10.1093/neuonc/noaa222.316
2020

Long term toxicity of intracranial germ cell tumor treatment in adolescents and young adults
Journal of Neuro-Oncology
Wong, J. and Goddard, K. and Laperriere, N. and Dang, J. and Bouffet, E. and Bartels, U. and Hodgson, D. and Tyldesley, S. and Hukin, J. and Cheng, S. and Bedard, P.L. and Lo, A.C.
DOI: 10.1007/s11060-020-03642-1
2020

Canadian Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Standards of Practice
Frontiers in Oncology
Bennett, J. and Erker, C. and Lafay-Cousin, L. and Ramaswamy, V. and Hukin, J. and Vanan, M.I. and Cheng, S. and Coltin, H. and Fonseca, A. and Johnston, D. and Lo, A. and Zelcer, S. and Alvi, S. and Bowes, L. and Brossard, J. and Charlebois, J. and Eisenstat, D. and Felton, K. and Fleming, A. and Jabado, N. and Larouche, V. and Legault, G. and Mpofu, C. and Perreault, S. and Silva, M. and Sinha, R. and Strother, D. and Tsang, D.S. and Wilson, B. and Crooks, B. and Bartels, U.
DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2020.593192
2020

NTRK2 Fusion Driven Pediatric Glioblastoma: Identification of key molecular drivers by personalized oncology
Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences / Journal Canadien des Sciences Neurologiques
Levine and Y Shen and K Mungall and J Serrano and M Snuderl and E Pleasance and SJM Jones and J Laskin and MA Marra and R Rassekh and R Deyell and S Yip and S Cheng and C Dunham
DOI: 10.1017/cjn.2019.266
09/2019

Alterations in ALK/ROS1/NTRK/MET drive a group of infantile hemispheric gliomas
Nature Communications
Guerreiro Stucklin, A.S. and Ryall, S. and Fukuoka, K. and Zapotocky, M. and Lassaletta, A. and Li, C. and Bridge, T. and Kim, B. and Arnoldo, A. and Kowalski, P.E. and Zhong, Y. and Johnson, M. and Li, C. and Ramani, A.K. and Siddaway, R. and Nobre, L.F. and de Antonellis, P. and Dunham, C. and Cheng, S. and Boué, D.R. and Finlay, J.L. and Coven, S.L. and de Prada, I. and Perez-Somarriba, M. and Faria, C.C. and Grotzer, M.A. and Rushing, E. and Sumerauer, D. and Zamecnik, J. and Krskova, L. and Garcia Ariza, M. and Cruz, O. and Morales La Madrid, A. and Solano, P. and Terashima, K. and Nakano, Y. and Ichimura, K. and Nagane, M. and Sakamoto, H. and Gil-da-Costa, M.J. and Silva, R. and Johnston, D.L. and Michaud, J. and Wilson, B. and van Landeghem, F.K.H. and Oviedo, A. and McNeely, P.D. and Crooks, B. and Fried, I. and Zhukova, N. and Hansford, J.R. and Nageswararao, A. and Garzia, L. and Shago, M. and Brudno, M. and Irwin, M.S. and Bartels, U. and Ramaswamy, V. and Bouffet, E. and Taylor, M.D. and Tabori, U. and Hawkins, C.
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-12187-5
2019

Canadian patterns of practice for intracranial germ cell tumors in adolescents and young adults
Journal of Neuro-Oncology
Lo, A.C. and Laperriere, N. and Hodgson, D. and Bouffet, E. and Nicholson, J. and McKenzie, M. and Hukin, J. and Cheng, S. and Goddard, K.J.
DOI: 10.1007/s11060-019-03159-2
2019

Improving diagnosis of pediatric central nervous system tumours: Aiming for early detection
CMAJ
Goldman, R.D. and Cheng, S. and Cochrane, D.D.
DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.160074
2017

Outcomes of children with central nervous system germinoma treated with multi-agent chemotherapy followed by reduced radiation
Journal of Neuro-Oncology
Cheng, S. and Kilday, J.-P. and Laperriere, N. and Janzen, L. and Drake, J. and Bouffet, E. and Bartels, U.
DOI: 10.1007/s11060-015-2029-1
2016

Improving the Curriculum in the Pediatric Hematology and Oncology (PHO) Residency Program
Paediatric Blood and Cancer
06/2015

Do we need a formalized humanism and professionalism curriculum in pediatric hematology and oncology training?
Pediatric Blood and Cancer
Cheng, S. and Rayar, M. and Punnett, A.
DOI: 10.1002/pbc.25638
2015

Pathological findings of a subependymal giant cell astrocytoma following treatment with rapamycin
Pediatric Neurology
Cheng, S. and Hawkins, C. and Taylor, M.D. and Bartels, U.
DOI: 10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2015.05.020
2015

Long term outcomes in children with intracranial germinoma: a single institution experience from 2000-2013
Neuro-Oncology
06/2014

Early deaths in pediatric acute leukemia: A population-based study
Leukemia and Lymphoma
Cheng, S. and Pole, J.D. and Sung, L.
DOI: 10.3109/10428194.2013.850685
2014

Pathological findings of subependymal giant cell astrocytoma following treatment with mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor Rapamycin
Paediatric Blood and Cancer
06/2013

Completing a scholarly project during paediatric residency: motivators, barriers, and enablers
Paediatric and Child Health
06/2013

Discrete choice experiment produced estimates of acceptable risks of therapeutic options in cancer patients with febrile neutropenia
Journal of Clinical Epidemiology
Sung, L. and Alibhai, S.M. and Ethier, M.-C. and Teuffel, O. and Cheng, S. and Fisman, D. and Regier, D.A.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2011.11.008
2012

Health-related quality of life anticipated with different management strategies for febrile neutropenia in adult cancer patients
Supportive Care in Cancer
Teuffel, O. and Cheng, S. and Ethier, M.C. and Diorio, C. and Martino, J. and Mayo, C. and Wing, R. and Sung, L. and Alibhai, S.M.H.
DOI: 10.1007/s00520-012-1397-8
2012

Health-related quality of life anticipated with different management strategies for paediatric febrile neutropaenia
British Journal of Cancer
Cheng, S. and Teuffel, O. and Ethier, M.C. and Diorio, C. and Martino, J. and Mayo, C. and Regier, D. and Wing, R. and Alibhai, S.M.H. and Sung, L.
DOI: 10.1038/bjc.2011.213
2011

Symptomatic Congenital Vallecular Cyst in a Neonate
Journal of Pediatrics
Cheng, S.S. and Forte, V. and Shah, V.S.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2009.01.076
2009

Research

Delayed Diagnosis of CNS Tumors in Children
Central nervous system (CNS) tumors in chidlren account for a quarter of all cancers in children but diagnosis is often delayed as symptoms are not specific and more benign conditions are more common. Furthermore, the diagnosis of CNS tumors necessittes a comprehensive clinical history and complete examination in addition to advanced imaging. Delay in diagnosis of CNS tumors in children can be devastating for families and clinicians and time to diagnosis is critical in an effort to provide the best surgical and non-surgical care. Despite ample research and improvements in quality and access to diagnostic imaging, time to diagnosis in children has been less than optimal with reports of 5-8 months from time of symptom presentation to diagnosis. Therefore, we hope to retrospectively evaluate the time to diagnosis of CNS tumors in children in British Columbia with the aim of developing an algorithm and educational tools to aid health care providers in management prospectively.

International DIPG Registry
Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) is a devastating brainstem tumor that occurs in young children. Despite attempts of novel therapeutics or conventional radiation therapy, the prognosis remains dismal. Therefore, the primary aim of the DIPG Registry is to collaborate with all pediatric centers internationally to form a clinical, radiological, and tissue repository for the basis of a platform to provide collaborative efforts and research to occur in an extremely rare disease.

Headstart 4
Earlier generations of multi-center "Baby" protocols have demonstrated the feasibility of chemotherapy-only strategies for young children with newly diagnosed malignant brain tumors. The disease-free survivals attained with these regimens, however, remained worse compared to regimens that include radiation therapy. The previous generations of Headstart studies (1-3) demonstrated favourable outcomes for certain patient groups. Recent genomic advances in RNA and DNA profiling have identified four molecular subgroups of medulloblastoma that confer prognosis. However, all the analyses to date have been conducted on patients where the majority received radiation therapy. Therefore, the primary aims of Headstart 4 is to determine prospectively, in a randomized fashion, whether there is a difference in event-free and overall survival in those who receive a dose-intensive tandem consolidation vs. single consolidation in high risk patients with medulloblastoma and embryonal CNS tumors based on prospective molecular risk stratification.

Research Group Members

Carla Willems
Kendrew Wong