This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) eLetters: Submit a response to this article Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services E-mail this article link to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints/Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Rubnitz, J. E. Articles by Pui, C.-H. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Rubnitz, J. E. Articles by Pui, C.-H.

Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Department of Hematology/Oncology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Department of Pediatrics and University of Tennessee, College of Medicine, Memphis, Tennessee, USA

Correspondence: Jeffrey E. Rubnitz, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Hematology/Oncology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 332 North Lauderdale Street, Memphis, Tennessee 38105, USA. Telephone: 901-495-2388; Fax: 901-521-9005; e-mail: jeffrey.rubnitz{at}stjude.org

The cure rate for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) now exceeds 70%. This success has been achieved in part by improvements in the biologic characterization of newly diagnosed patients. Modern treatment protocols rely on this information to tailor therapy to a patient’s risk of relapse. Patients with favorable genetic features, such as hyperdiploidy or the TEL-AML1 fusion, can be treated with conventional antimetabolite-based therapy to minimize long-term side effects. By contrast, extremely high-risk patients, such as infants with MLL gene rearrangements and cases with BCR-ABL fusion and poor early response, are candidates for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in first remission. Future areas of research include the identification of new genetic subgroups of ALL and the development of novel therapies.

Key Words. Leukemia • Lymphoblastic • Pediatric • Childhood • Treatment • Translocation