Again, treatment includes an induction and consolidation phase, and generally a maintenance phase for one to two years. Because of the known risk of central nervous system leukemia (leukemic meningitis), patients are also treated with chemotherapy (usually methotrexate) via a spinal tap or an Ommaya reservoir surgically implanted under the scalp or by radiation therapy to the head in an effort to prevent this complication. As with AML treatment, most patients will be in the hospital when treatment is started.
Investigational
• Because of the availability of the growth factors such as G-CSF , more intensive combinations of
chemotherapy are being given initially in hopes of increasing the number of patients obtaining long-term
disease-free survival.
• The use of monoclonal antibodies continues to be investigated.