blood cells and platelets. In this way, complications such as infection and bleeding may be avoided. Results on
this type of treatment will be available in the next few years.
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)
Children with ALL have a better long-term survival than adult patients. There are many possible reasons for this difference. Twenty percent of adult patients have a chromosomal marker, the Philadelphia chromosome, which signifies a more difficult form of leukemia to treat. However, adult patients may still have a significant response. A bone marrow transplant may be considered in first remission in adults with Philadelphia chromosome-positive ALL.
Standard Treatment ALL patients have a higher response rate to chemotherapy than do patients with AML and more drugs are available to treat this form of the disease. Drugs commonly used for induction treatment include vincristine (Oncovin), prednisone , idarubicin (Idamycin) or doxorubicin (Adriamycin), L-asparaginase, Cytoxan and Cytosar .
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.
