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Acute lymphocytic leukemia

Description

An in-depth report on the causes, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of leukemia.


Alternative Names

Acute lymphoblastic (or lymphocytic) leukemia


Treatment During Remission

Consolidation and maintenance therapies follow induction and first remission. The goal of consolidation and maintenance therapies is to prevent a relapse. The specific treatment choices and degree of aggressiveness after induction therapy depend on a number of factors, particularly the risk factors for relapse.

Consolidation (or Intensification) Therapy

Consolidation therapy is additional treatment that is administered after induction therapy and before maintenance therapy. This is an intense regimen that is designed to prevent the high relapse rates that occur with induction therapy alone. (The benefits of this therapy are clearer in children than in older adults, who may just be given maintenance.)

Consolidation therapy usually continues for approximately 6 months and uses 1 - 6 courses of chemotherapy, depending on risk factors for relapse.

Examples of consolidation regimens for children at standard risk:

More intense regimens are used for children at high-risk for relapse.

Maintenance

The last phase of treatment is maintenance, or continuation therapy:

A maintenance regimen is usually less toxic and easier to tolerate than induction and consolidation. Some studies, however, indicate that overall survival could further be improved with more-aggressive maintenance therapies, including:

Maintenance typically is ongiong until complete remission has lasted 2 - 3 years.

Investigation is ongoing to determine the best drugs and schedules to use. For example, doctors have debated whether thioguanine is a better choice than mercaptopurine (a 2006 study recommended that mercaptopurine remain the standard thiopurine drug for treating childhood ALL). Researchers are also trying to pinpoint patients who would best benefit from aggressive maintenance treatments.

Risk Factors for Relapse after a First Remission

The following are factors that increase the risk for relapse after initial treatments:

  • Microscopic evidence of leukemia after 20 weeks of therapy (minimal disease)
  • Age over 30
  • A high white blood cell count at the time of diagnosis
  • Disease that has spread beyond the bone marrow to other organs
  • Certain genetic abnormalities, such as the presence of the Philadelphia chromosome or MLL gene translocations
  • Patients with high disease levels after 7 - 14 days of induction therapy
  • The need for 4 or more weeks of induction chemotherapy in order to achieve a first complete remission

Patients with one or more of these risk factors may be candidates for bone marrow transplantation once they are in first remission.


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