Leukemia is the most common childhood malignancy and cause of pediatric cancer death. Significant advances in the cure rates of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) and T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) have been achieved; however, patients with refractory or relapsed B-ALL or T-ALL continue to have poor outcomes. Immunotherapy is a revolutionary treatment aimed to improve survival and reduce the toxicity of chemotherapy by harnessing the patient’s own immune system to target cancer cells.

The concept of immunotherapy has been traced as far back to third century BC Qin dynasty in China through the purposeful inoculation of Variola minor to prevent smallpox. 

The global scaling up of treatment and care for people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (PLHIV) has led to a 43% decline in new HIV pediatric infections since 2003, with 330,000 newly infected children in 2011.

Tracheostomy insertion is a common procedure used to support weaning from mechanical ventilation or following head and neck surgery. Resolution of the clinical need for tracheostomy is followed by a process of tracheostomy weaning and subsequent decannulation.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines anaemia as a haemoglobin (Hb) of less than 130 mg/mL in men and 120 mg/mL in non-pregnant women. Anaemia has a global prevalence of 25%. In patients presenting for surgery the prevalence can be as high as 40%. Anaemia can be acute or chronic; but becomes problematic when there are insufficient numbers of red blood cells to maintain physiological oxygen demand, the end result being compromised oxygen delivery.