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Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a fast-growing type of blood cancer in which too many lymphoblasts (immature white blood cells) are found in the blood and bone marrow. Learn about acute lymphoblastic leukemia and find information on how we support and care for children and teens with ALL before, during, and after treatment.
The Hematologic Malignancy Center at Dana-Farber Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center is one of the top pediatric leukemia and lymphoma treatment centers in the world. In addition to treating lymphomas and leukemias, our center treats the primary types of histiocytosis.
All members of our treatment team — including oncologists, radiation oncologists, surgeons, stem cell transplant physicians and oncology nurses — have specific expertise in pediatric hematologic malignancies. Many of our specialists are recognized as national leaders in their field.
Our clinical research program enables us to offer innovative clinical trials for children of all ages and with many forms of hematologic malignancies. Our clinical team works closely with researchers to develop new treatments based on the latest scientific discoveries.
Our services include:
Additional support services for our patients include:
Learn more about our Hematologic Malignancy Center.
In the form of leukemia known as acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a group of white blood cells called lymphocytes is affected. Acute lymphocytic leukemia is also called lymphoblastic or lymphoid leukemia. ALL accounts for about 75 to 80 percent of the childhood leukemias. Leukemia is the most common form of cancer in children, affecting about 3,000 children each year in the United States, accounting for about 30 percent of childhood cancers.
Children with acute lymphobastic leukemia are treated through the Leukemia Program at Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center. Dana-Farber/Boston Children's has played a key role in refining treatment for childhood leukemia, resulting in today's cure rates of more than 85 percent for pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
Your child's physician will determine a specific course of treatment for childhood leukemia based on several factors. Treatment for ALL is a long-term process. Chemotherapy and other treatment for the disease may take two years or more to complete.
Chemotherapy is a drug treatment that interferes with the cancer cell's ability to grow or reproduce. For some types of cancer, chemotherapy is used alone, while in others it is used in conjunction with other therapy, such as radiation or surgery. Chemotherapy is the standard first treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). While chemotherapy can be quite effective in treating certain cancers, the medications don't distinguish healthy cells from cancer cells. As a result, there can be side effects during treatment. Your child's care team will work to manage or prevent these side effects whenever possible.
Radiation therapy uses high-energy rays (radiation) from a specialized machine to damage or kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation is usually only given if your child is at a high risk of relapse occurring in the brain or central nervous system.
A stem cell (or bone marrow) transplant is a treatment that is rarely used to treat ALL. Stem cells are a specific type of cell from which all blood cells develop. They can develop into red blood cells to carry oxygen, white blood cells to fight disease and infection and platelets to aid in blood clotting. Stem cells are found primarily in bone marrow, but some also circulate in the blood stream. In ALL, the cells for a stem cell transplant come from donors (other people). These donated cells are used to replace your child's stem cells after particularly intense treatment with chemotherapy and/or radiation.
Dana-Farber/Boston Children's leads pediatric leukemia clinical trials designed to increase cure rates, decrease treatment-related side effects and improve care for long-term survivors. We also have opened clincal trials of new drugs and new chemotherapy combinations for children with relapsed ALL.
Find more in-depth information on acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) on the Dana-Farber/Boston Children's website, including answers to:
Fortunately, cancer in children and adolescents is rare, although the overall incidence of childhood cancer, including ALL, has been slowly increasing since 1975.[1] Children and adolescents with cancer should be referred to medical centers that have a multidisciplinary team of cancer specialists with experience treating the cancers that occur during childhood and adolescence. This multidisciplinary team approach incorporates the skills of the following health care professionals and others to ensure that children receive treatment, supportive care, and rehabilitation that will achieve optimal survival and quality of life:
(Refer to the PDQ Supportive and Palliative Care summaries for specific information about supportive care for children and adolescents with cancer.)
Guidelines for cancer centers and their role in the treatment of pediatric patients with cancer have been outlined by the American Academy of Pediatrics.[2] Because treatment of children with ALL entails complicated risk assignment and therapies and the need for intensive supportive care (e.g., transfusions; management of infectious complications; and emotional, financial, and developmental support), evaluation and treatment are best coordinated by pediatric oncologists in cancer centers or hospitals with all of the necessary pediatric supportive care facilities. It is important that the clinical centers and the specialists directing the patient's care maintain contact with the referring physician in the community. Strong lines of communication optimize any urgent or interim care required when the child is at home.
Dramatic improvements in survival have been achieved in children and adolescents with cancer.[1][3][4] Between 1975 and 2010, childhood cancer mortality decreased by more than 50%.[3][4] For ALL, the 5-year survival rate has increased over the same time from 60% to approximately 90% for children younger than 15 years and from 28% to approximately 70% for adolescents aged 15 to 19 years.[1][3][4][5] Childhood and adolescent cancer survivors require close follow-up because cancer therapy side effects may persist or develop months or years after treatment. (Refer to the PDQ summary on Late Effects of Treatment for Childhood Cancer for specific information about the incidence, type, and monitoring of late effects in childhood and adolescent cancer survivors.)
ALL is the most common cancer diagnosed in children and represents approximately 25% of cancer diagnoses among children younger than 15 years.[3][4] ALL occurs at an annual rate of 35 to 40 cases per 1 million people in the United States.[3][4][6] There are approximately 2,900 children and adolescents younger than 20 years diagnosed with ALL each year in the United States.[6][7] Over the past 25 years, there has been a gradual increase in the incidence of ALL.[3][4][8]
A sharp peak in ALL incidence is observed among children aged 2 to 3 years (>90 cases per 1 million per year), with rates decreasing to fewer than 30 cases per 1 million by age 8 years.[3][4] The incidence of ALL among children aged 2 to 3 years is approximately fourfold greater than that for infants and is likewise fourfold to fivefold greater than that for children aged 10 years and older.[3][4]
The incidence of ALL appears to be highest in Hispanic children (43 cases per 1 million).[3][4][6] The incidence is substantially higher in white children than in black children, with a nearly threefold higher incidence of ALL from age 2 to 3 years in white children than in black children.[3][4][6]
Childhood ALL originates in the T- and B-lymphoblasts in the bone marrow (see Figure 1).
Marrow involvement of acute leukemia as seen by light microscopy is defined as follows:
Most patients with acute leukemia present with an M3 marrow.
Few factors associated with an increased risk of ALL have been identified. The primary accepted risk factors for ALL include the following:
Children with Down syndrome have an increased risk of developing both ALL and acute myeloid leukemia (AML),[14][15] with a cumulative risk of developing leukemia of approximately 2.1% by age 5 years and 2.7% by age 30 years.[14][15]
Approximately one-half to two-thirds of cases of acute leukemia in children with Down syndrome are ALL, and about 2% to 3% of childhood ALL cases occur in children with Down syndrome.[16][17][18] While the vast majority of cases of AML in children with Down syndrome occur before the age of 4 years (median age, 1 year),[19] ALL in children with Down syndrome has an age distribution similar to that of ALL in non–Down syndrome children, with a median age of 3 to 4 years.[16][17]
Patients with ALL and Down syndrome have a lower incidence of both favorable (t(12;21) and hyperdiploidy) and unfavorable (t(9;22) or t(4;11) and hypodiploidy) cytogenetic findings and a near absence of T-cell phenotype.[16][17][18][19] Approximately 50% to 60% of cases of ALL in children with Down syndrome have genomic alterations affecting CRLF2 that generally result in overexpression of this gene.[20][21][22]CRLF2 genomic alterations are observed at a much lower frequency (<10%) in children with B-precursor ALL who do not have Down syndrome.[22][23][24] It does not appear that genomic CRLF2 aberrations in patients with Down syndrome and ALL have prognostic relevance.[21] However, IKZF1 gene deletions, observed in up to 35% of patients with Down syndrome and ALL, have been associated with a significantly worse outcome in this group of patients.[21]
Approximately 20% of ALL cases arising in children with Down syndrome have somatically acquired JAK2 mutations,[20][21][25][26][27] a finding that is uncommon among younger children with ALL but that is observed in a subset of primarily older children and adolescents with high-risk B-precursor ALL.[28] Almost all Down syndrome ALL cases with JAK2 mutations also have CRLF2 genomic alterations.[20][21][22] Preliminary evidence suggests no correlation between JAK2 mutation status and 5-year event-free survival in children with Down syndrome and ALL,[21][26] but more study is needed to address this issue and the prognostic significance of IKZF1 gene deletions.
Genome-wide association studies show that some germline (inherited) genetic polymorphisms are associated with the development of childhood ALL.[29] For example, the risk alleles of ARID5B are strongly associated with the development of hyperdiploid B-precursor ALL. ARID5B is a gene that encodes a transcriptional factor important in embryonic development, cell type–specific gene expression, and cell growth regulation.[30][31]
Development of ALL is in most cases a multi-step process, with more than one genomic alteration required for frank leukemia to develop. In at least some cases of childhood ALL, the initial genomic alteration appears to occur in utero. Evidence in support of this comes from the observation that the immunoglobulin or T-cell receptor antigen rearrangements that are unique to each patient's leukemia cells can be detected in blood samples obtained at birth.[32][33] Similarly, in ALL characterized by specific chromosomal abnormalities, some patients appear to have blood cells carrying at least one leukemic genomic abnormality at the time of birth, with additional cooperative genomic changes acquired postnatally.[32][33][34] Genomic studies of identical twins with concordant leukemia further support the prenatal origin of some leukemias.[32][35]
There is also evidence that some children who never develop ALL are born with very rare blood cells carrying a genomic alteration associated with ALL. For example, in one study, 1% of neonatal blood spots (Guthrie cards) tested positive for the ETV6-RUNX1 translocation, far exceeding the number of cases of ETV6-RUNX1 ALL in children.[36] Other reports confirm [37] or do not confirm [38] this finding. Nonetheless, if confirmed, it would support the hypothesis that additional postnatal genomic changes are needed for the development of this type of ALL and that in most cases in which a leukemia-associated alteration is present at birth, the additional leukemogenic genomic changes do not occur and no leukemia develops.
The typical and atypical symptoms and clinical findings of childhood ALL have been published.[39][40][41]
The diagnostic evaluation needed to definitively diagnose childhood ALL has been published.[39][40][41][42]
Among children with ALL, more than 95% attain remission, and approximately 80% of patients aged 1 to 18 years with newly diagnosed ALL treated on current regimens are expected to be long-term event-free survivors.[43][44][45][46][47][48]
Despite the treatment advances noted in childhood ALL, numerous important biologic and therapeutic questions remain to be answered before the goal of curing every child with ALL with the least associated toxicity can be achieved. The systematic investigation of these issues requires large clinical trials, and the opportunity to participate in these trials is offered to most patients/families.
Clinical trials for children and adolescents with ALL are generally designed to compare therapy that is currently accepted as standard with investigational regimens that seek to improve cure rates and/or decrease toxicity. In certain trials in which the cure rate for the patient group is very high, therapy reduction questions may be asked. Much of the progress made in identifying curative therapies for childhood ALL and other childhood cancers has been achieved through investigator-driven discovery and tested in carefully randomized, controlled, multi-institutional clinical trials. Information about ongoing clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.
Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The list of clinical trials can be further narrowed by location, drug, intervention, and other criteria.
General information about clinical trials is also available from the NCI Web site.
Smith MA, Seibel NL, Altekruse SF, et al.: Outcomes for children and adolescents with cancer: challenges for the twenty-first century. J Clin Oncol 28 (15): 2625-34, 2010.
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Hasle H: Pattern of malignant disorders in individuals with Down's syndrome. Lancet Oncol 2 (7): 429-36, 2001.
Whitlock JA: Down syndrome and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Br J Haematol 135 (5): 595-602, 2006.
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Maloney KW, Carroll WL, Carroll AJ, et al.: Down syndrome childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia has a unique spectrum of sentinel cytogenetic lesions that influences treatment outcome: a report from the Children's Oncology Group. Blood 116 (7): 1045-50, 2010.
Chessells JM, Harrison G, Richards SM, et al.: Down's syndrome and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: clinical features and response to treatment. Arch Dis Child 85 (4): 321-5, 2001.
Hertzberg L, Vendramini E, Ganmore I, et al.: Down syndrome acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a highly heterogeneous disease in which aberrant expression of CRLF2 is associated with mutated JAK2: a report from the International BFM Study Group. Blood 115 (5): 1006-17, 2010.
Buitenkamp TD, Pieters R, Gallimore NE, et al.: Outcome in children with Down's syndrome and acute lymphoblastic leukemia: role of IKZF1 deletions and CRLF2 aberrations. Leukemia 26 (10): 2204-11, 2012.
Mullighan CG, Collins-Underwood JR, Phillips LA, et al.: Rearrangement of CRLF2 in B-progenitor- and Down syndrome-associated acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Nat Genet 41 (11): 1243-6, 2009.
Harvey RC, Mullighan CG, Chen IM, et al.: Rearrangement of CRLF2 is associated with mutation of JAK kinases, alteration of IKZF1, Hispanic/Latino ethnicity, and a poor outcome in pediatric B-progenitor acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Blood 115 (26): 5312-21, 2010.
Schwab CJ, Chilton L, Morrison H, et al.: Genes commonly deleted in childhood B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia: association with cytogenetics and clinical features. Haematologica 98 (7): 1081-8, 2013.
Bercovich D, Ganmore I, Scott LM, et al.: Mutations of JAK2 in acute lymphoblastic leukaemias associated with Down's syndrome. Lancet 372 (9648): 1484-92, 2008.
Gaikwad A, Rye CL, Devidas M, et al.: Prevalence and clinical correlates of JAK2 mutations in Down syndrome acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Br J Haematol 144 (6): 930-2, 2009.
Kearney L, Gonzalez De Castro D, Yeung J, et al.: Specific JAK2 mutation (JAK2R683) and multiple gene deletions in Down syndrome acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Blood 113 (3): 646-8, 2009.
Mullighan CG, Zhang J, Harvey RC, et al.: JAK mutations in high-risk childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 106 (23): 9414-8, 2009.
de Jonge R, Tissing WJ, Hooijberg JH, et al.: Polymorphisms in folate-related genes and risk of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Blood 113 (10): 2284-9, 2009.
Papaemmanuil E, Hosking FJ, Vijayakrishnan J, et al.: Loci on 7p12.2, 10q21.2 and 14q11.2 are associated with risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Nat Genet 41 (9): 1006-10, 2009.
Treviño LR, Yang W, French D, et al.: Germline genomic variants associated with childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Nat Genet 41 (9): 1001-5, 2009.
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Taub JW, Konrad MA, Ge Y, et al.: High frequency of leukemic clones in newborn screening blood samples of children with B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Blood 99 (8): 2992-6, 2002.
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Children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) are usually treated according to risk groups defined by both clinical and laboratory features. The intensity of treatment required for favorable outcome varies substantially among subsets of children with ALL. Risk-based treatment assignment is utilized in children with ALL so that patients with favorable clinical and biological features who are likely to have a very good outcome with modest therapy can be spared more intensive and toxic treatment, while a more aggressive, and potentially more toxic, therapeutic approach can be provided for patients who have a lower probability of long-term survival.[1][2][3]
Certain ALL study groups, such as the Children's Oncology Group (COG), use a more or less intensive induction regimen based on a subset of pretreatment factors, while other groups give a similar induction regimen to all patients. Factors used by the COG to determine the intensity of induction include immunophenotype and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) risk group classification. The NCI risk group classification stratifies risk according to age and white blood cell (WBC) count:[1]
All study groups modify the intensity of postinduction therapy based on a variety of prognostic factors, including NCI risk group, immunophenotype, early response determinations, and cytogenetics.[3]
Risk-based treatment assignment requires the availability of prognostic factors that reliably predict outcome. For children with ALL, a number of factors have demonstrated prognostic value, some of which are described below.[4] The factors described are grouped into the following three categories:
As in any discussion of prognostic factors, the relative order of significance and the interrelationship of the variables are often treatment dependent and require multivariate analysis to determine which factors operate independently as prognostic variables.[5][6] Because prognostic factors are treatment dependent, improvements in therapy may diminish or abrogate the significance of any of these presumed prognostic factors.
A subset of the prognostic and clinical factors discussed below is used for the initial stratification of children with ALL for treatment assignment. (Refer to the Prognostic (risk) groups under clinical evaluation section of this summary for brief descriptions of the prognostic groupings currently applied in ongoing clinical trials in the United States.)
(Refer to the Prognostic Factors After First Relapse of Childhood ALL section of this summary for information about important prognostic factors at relapse.)
Patient characteristics affecting prognosis include the following:
Age at diagnosis has strong prognostic significance,
reflecting the different underlying biology of ALL in different age groups.[7]
Infants with ALL have a particularly high risk of treatment failure. Treatment failure is most common in the following groups:[8][9][10][11]
Approximately 80% of infants with ALL have an MLL gene rearrangement.[10][12][13] The rate of MLL gene translocations is extremely high in infants younger than 6 months; from 6 months to 1 year, the incidence of MLL translocations decreases but remains higher than that observed in older children.[10][14] Black infants with ALL are significantly less likely to have MLL translocations than white infants.[14] Infants with leukemia and MLL translocations typically have very high WBC counts and an increased incidence of CNS involvement. Overall survival (OS) is poor, especially in infants younger than 6 months.[10][11] A gene expression profile analysis in infants with MLL-rearranged ALL revealed significant differences between patients younger than 90 days and older infants, suggesting distinctive age-related biological behaviors for MLL-translocation ALL that may relate to the significantly poorer outcome for the youngest infants.[15]
Blasts from infants with MLL translocations are typically CD10 negative and express high levels of FLT3.[10][11][13][16] Conversely, infants whose leukemic cells show a germline MLL gene configuration frequently present with CD10-positive precursor-B immunophenotype. These infants have a significantly better outcome than do infants with ALL characterized by MLL translocations.[10][11][13]
Young children (aged 1 to <10 years) have a better disease-free survival (DFS) than older children, adolescents, and infants.[1][7][17] The improved prognosis in young children is at least partly explained by the more frequent occurrence of favorable cytogenetic features in the leukemic blasts including hyperdiploidy with 51 or more chromosomes and/or favorable chromosome trisomies, or the ETV6-RUNX1 (t(12;21), also known as the TEL-AML1 translocation).[7][18][19]
In general, the outcome of patients aged 10 years and older is inferior to that of patients aged 1 to younger than 10 years. However, the outcome for older children, especially adolescents, has improved significantly over time.[20][21][22] Five-year survival
rates for adolescents aged 15 to 19 years increased from 36% (1975–1984) to 72% (2003–2009).[23][24][25] Multiple retrospective studies have suggested that adolescents aged 16 to 21 years have a better outcome when treated on pediatric versus adult protocols.[26][27][28] (Refer to the Postinduction Treatment for Specific ALL Subgroups section of this summary for more information about adolescents with
WBC count of 50,000/µL is generally used as an operational cut point between
better and poorer prognosis,[1] although the relationship between WBC count and
prognosis is a continuous rather than a step function. Patients with B-precursor ALL and high WBC counts at diagnosis have an increased risk of treatment failure compared with patients with low initial WBC counts.
The median WBC count at diagnosis is much higher for T-cell ALL (>50,000/µL) than for B-precursor ALL (<10,000/µL), and there is no consistent effect of WBC count at diagnosis on prognosis for T-cell ALL.[6][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] One factor that might explain the lack of prognostic effect for WBC count at diagnosis may be the very poor outcome observed for T-cell ALL with the early T-cell precursor phenotype, as patients with this subtype appear to have lower WBC count at diagnosis (median, <50,000/µL) than do other T-cell ALL patients.[36]
The presence or absence of CNS leukemia at diagnosis has prognostic significance. Patients who have a nontraumatic diagnostic lumbar puncture may be placed into one of three categories according to the number of WBC/µL and the presence or absence of blasts on cytospin as follows:
Children with ALL who present with CNS disease (CNS3) at diagnosis are at a higher risk of treatment failure (both within the CNS and systemically) than are patients who are classified as CNS1 or CNS2.[37] Some studies have reported increased risk of CNS relapse and/or inferior event-free survival (EFS) in CNS2 patients, compared with CNS1 patients,[38][39] while others have not.[37][40][41][42]
A traumatic lumbar puncture (≥10 erythrocytes/µL) that includes blasts at diagnosis has also been associated with increased risk of CNS relapse and overall poorer outcome in some studies,[37][43][41] but not others.[38][40] Patients with CNS2, CNS3, or traumatic lumbar puncture have a higher frequency of unfavorable prognostic characteristics than do those with CNS1, including significantly higher WBC counts at diagnosis, older age at diagnosis, an increased frequency of the T-cell ALL phenotype, and MLL gene rearrangements.[37][40][41]
Some clinical trial groups have approached CNS2 and traumatic lumbar puncture by utilizing more intensive therapy, primarily additional doses of intrathecal therapy during induction.[37][44]; [40][Level of evidence: 2A] Other groups have not altered therapy based on CNS2 status.[38][45]
To determine whether a patient with a traumatic lumbar puncture (with blasts) should be treated as CNS3, the COG uses an algorithm relating the WBC and red blood cell counts in the spinal fluid and the peripheral blood.[46]
Overt testicular involvement at the time of diagnosis occurs in approximately 2% of males, most commonly in T-cell ALL.
In early ALL trials, testicular involvement at diagnosis was an adverse prognostic factor. With more aggressive initial therapy, however, it does not appear that testicular involvement at diagnosis has prognostic significance.[47][48] For example, the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC [EORTC-58881]) reported no adverse prognostic significance for overt testicular involvement at diagnosis.[48]
The role of radiation therapy for testicular involvement is unclear. A study from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (SJCRH) suggests that a good outcome can be achieved with aggressive conventional chemotherapy without radiation.[47] The COG has also adopted this strategy for boys with testicular involvement that resolves completely by the end of induction therapy. The COG considers patients with testicular involvement to be high risk regardless of other presenting features, but most other large clinical trial groups in the United States and Europe do not consider testicular disease to be a high-risk feature.
Outcome in children with Down syndrome and ALL has generally been reported as somewhat inferior to outcomes observed in children who do not have Down syndrome.[49][50][51][52]
The lower EFS and OS of children with Down syndrome appear to be related to
higher rates of treatment-related mortality and the absence of favorable biological features such as ETV6-RUNX1 or trisomies of chromosomes 4 and 10.[49][50][51][52][53] In a report from the COG, among B-precursor ALL patients who lacked MLL translocations, BCR-ABL1, ETV6-RUNX1, or trisomies of chromosomes 4 and 10, the EFS and OS were similar in children with and without Down syndrome.[53] Certain genomic abnormalities, such as IKZF1 deletions, CRLF2 aberrations, and JAK mutations are seen more frequently in ALL arising in children with Down syndrome than in those without Down syndrome.[54][55][56][57][58] In one study of Down syndrome children with ALL, the presence of IKZF1 deletions (but not CRLF2 aberrations or JAK mutations) was associated with an inferior prognosis.[58]
In some studies, the prognosis for girls with ALL is slightly better than it is for
boys with ALL.[59][60][61] One reason for the better prognosis for girls is the
occurrence of testicular relapses among boys, but boys also appear to be at
increased risk of bone marrow and CNS relapse for reasons that are not well
understood.[59][60][61] While some reports describe outcomes for boys as closely approaching those of girls,[44][62] larger clinical trial experiences and national data continue to show somewhat lower survival rates for boys.[23][24][63]
Survival rates in black and Hispanic children with ALL have been somewhat lower than
the rates in white children with ALL.[64][65] Asian children with ALL fare slightly better than white children.[65]
The reason for better outcomes
in white and Asian children than in black and Hispanic children is at least partially explained by the different spectrum of ALL subtypes. For example, black children have a higher relative incidence of T-cell ALL and lower rates of favorable genetic subtypes of precursor B-cell ALL. Differences in outcome may also be related to treatment adherence, as illustrated by a study of adherence to oral 6-mercaptopurine in maintenance therapy. In this study, there was an increased risk of relapse in Hispanic children compared with non-Hispanic white children, depending on the level of adherence, even when adjusting for other known variables. However, at adherence rates of 90% or more, Hispanic children continued to demonstrate increased rates of relapse.[66] Ancestry-related genomic variations may also contribute to racial/ethnic disparities in both the incidence and outcome of ALL.[67] For example, the differential presence of specific host polymorphisms in different racial/ethnic groups may contribute to outcome disparities, as illustrated by the occurrence of single nucleotide polymorphisms in the ARID5B gene that occur more frequently among Hispanics and are linked to both ALL susceptibility and to relapse hazard.[68]
Leukemic cell characteristics affecting prognosis include the following:
In the past, ALL lymphoblasts were classified using
the French-American-British (FAB) criteria as having L1 morphology, L2
morphology, or L3 morphology.[69] However, because of the lack of independent prognostic
significance and the subjective nature of this classification system, it is no
longer used.
Most cases of ALL that show L3 morphology express surface immunoglobulin (Ig) and have a C-MYC gene translocation identical to that seen in Burkitt lymphoma (i.e., t(8;14)). Patients with this specific rare form of leukemia (mature B-cell or Burkitt leukemia) should be treated according to protocols for Burkitt lymphoma. (Refer to the PDQ summary on Childhood Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Treatment for
more information about the treatment of B-cell ALL and Burkitt lymphoma.)
The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies ALL as either:[70]
Either B or T lymphoblastic leukemia can coexpress myeloid antigens. These cases need to be distinguished from leukemia of ambiguous lineage.
Before 2008, the WHO classified B lymphoblastic leukemia as precursor-B lymphoblastic leukemia, and this terminology is still frequently used in the literature of childhood ALL to distinguish it from mature B-cell ALL. Mature B-cell ALL is now termed Burkitt leukemia and requires different treatment than has been given for precursor B-cell ALL. The older terminology will continue to be used throughout this summary.
Precursor B-cell ALL, defined by the expression
of cytoplasmic CD79a, CD19, HLA-DR, and other B cell-associated antigens, accounts for
80% to 85% of childhood ALL. Approximately 90% of precursor B-cell ALL cases express the CD10 surface antigen (formerly known as common ALL antigen [cALLa]). Absence of CD10 is associated with MLL translocations, particularly t(4;11), and a poor outcome.[10][71] It is not clear whether CD10-negativity has any independent prognostic significance in the absence of an MLL gene rearrangement.[72]
The major subtypes of precursor B-cell ALL are as follows:
Approximately three-quarters of patients with precursor B-cell ALL have the common precursor B-cell immunophenotype and have the best prognosis. Patients with favorable cytogenetics almost always show a common precursor B-cell immunophenotype.
Approximately 5% of patients have the pro-B immunophenotype. Pro-B is the most common immunophenotype seen in infants and is often associated with MLL gene rearrangements.
The leukemic cells of patients with pre-B ALL contain cytoplasmic Ig, and 25% of patients with pre-B ALL have the t(1;19) translocation with TCF3-PBX1 (also known as E2A-PBX1) fusion (see below).[73][74]
Approximately 3% of patients have transitional pre-B ALL with expression of surface Ig heavy chain without expression of light chain, C-MYC gene involvement, or L3 morphology. Patients with this phenotype respond well to therapy used for precursor B-cell ALL.[75]
Approximately 2% of patients
present with mature B-cell leukemia (surface Ig expression, generally with FAB L3
morphology and a translocation involving the C-MYC gene), also called Burkitt leukemia. The treatment for mature B-cell ALL is based on therapy for non-Hodgkin lymphoma and is completely different from that for precursor B-cell ALL. Rare cases of mature B-cell leukemia that lack surface Ig but
have L3 morphology with C-MYC gene translocations should also be treated as mature B-cell leukemia.[75] (Refer to the PDQ
summary on Childhood Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Treatment for more information about the
treatment of children with B-cell ALL and Burkitt lymphoma.)
T-cell ALL is defined by expression of the
T cell–associated antigens (cytoplasmic CD3, with CD7 plus CD2 or CD5) on leukemic blasts. T-cell ALL is frequently associated
with a constellation of clinical features, including the following:[17][29][62]
With appropriately intensive
therapy, children with T-cell ALL have an outcome approaching that of
children with B-lineage ALL.[17][29][32][33][62]
There are few commonly accepted prognostic factors for patients with T-cell ALL. Conflicting data exist regarding the prognostic significance of presenting leukocyte counts in T-cell ALL.[6][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] The presence or absence of a mediastinal mass at diagnosis has no prognostic significance. In patients with a mediastinal mass, the rate of regression of the mass lacks prognostic significance.[76]
Cytogenetic abnormalities common in B-lineage ALL (e.g., hyperdiploidy) are
rare in T-cell ALL.[77][78]
Multiple chromosomal translocations have been identified in T-cell ALL, with many genes encoding for transcription factors (e.g., TAL1, LMO1 and LMO2, LYL1, TLX1/HOX11, and TLX3/HOX11L2) fusing to one of the T-cell receptor loci and resulting in aberrant expression of these transcription factors in leukemia cells.[77][79][80][81][82][83] These translocations are often not apparent by examining a standard karyotype, but are identified using more sensitive screening techniques, such as fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) or polymerase chain reaction (PCR).[77] High expression of TLX1/HOX11 resulting from translocations involving this gene occurs in 5% to 10% of pediatric T-cell ALL cases and is associated with more favorable outcome in both adults and children with T-cell ALL.[79][80][81][83] Overexpression of TLX3/HOX11L2 resulting from the cryptic t(5;14)(q35;q32) translocation occurs in approximately 20% of pediatric T-cell ALL cases and appears to be associated with increased risk of treatment failure,[81] although not in all studies.
Notch pathway signaling is commonly activated by NOTCH1 and FBXW7 gene mutations in T-cell ALL.[84]NOTCH1-activating gene mutations occur in approximately 50% of T-cell ALL cases, and FBXW7 inactivating gene mutations occur in approximately 15% of cases, with the result that approximately 60% of cases having Notch pathway activation by mutations in at least one of these genes. The prognostic significance of Notch pathway activation by NOTCH1 and FBXW7 mutations in pediatric T-cell ALL is not clear, as some studies have shown a favorable prognosis for mutated cases,[85][86][87] while other studies have not shown prognostic significance for the presence of NOTCH1 and/or FBXW7 mutations.[88][89][90]
A NUP214–ABL1 fusion has been noted in 4% to 6% of T-cell ALL cases and is observed in both adults and children with a male predominance.[91][92][93] The fusion is cytogenetically cryptic and is seen in FISH on amplified episomes or more rarely, as a small homogeneous staining region.[93] T-cell ALL may also uncommonly show ABL1 fusion proteins with other gene partners (e.g., ETV6, BCR, and EML1).[93]ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitors, such as imatinib or dasatinib, may have therapeutic benefit in this T-cell ALL subtype,[91][92][94] although clinical experience with this strategy is very limited.[95][96][97]
Early T-cell precursor ALL
Early T-cell precursor ALL, a distinct subset of childhood T-cell ALL, was initially defined by identifying T-cell ALL cases with gene expression profiles highly related to expression profiles for normal early T-cell precursors.[36] The subset of T-cell ALL cases, identified by these analyses represented 13% of all cases and they were characterized by a distinctive immunophenotype (CD1a and CD8 negativity, with weak expression of CD5 and coexpression of stem cell or myeloid markers). Detailed molecular characterization of early T-cell precursor ALL showed this entity to be highly heterogeneous at the molecular level, with no single gene affected by mutation or copy number alteration in more than one-third of cases.[98] Compared with other T-ALL cases, the early T-cell precursor group had a lower rate of NOTCH1 mutations and significantly higher frequencies of alterations in genes regulating cytokine receptors and Ras signaling, hematopoietic development, and histone modification. The transcriptional profile of early T-cell precursor ALL shows similarities to that of normal hematopoietic stem cells and myeloid leukemia stem cells.[98]
Retrospective analyses have suggested that this subset has a poorer prognosis than other cases of T-cell ALL.[36][99][100] However, further study in larger patient cohorts is needed.
Studies have found that the absence of biallelic deletion of the TCRgamma locus (ABGD), as detected by comparative genomic hybridization and/or quantitative DNA-PCRn, was associated with early treatment failure in patients with T-cell ALL.[101][102] ABGD is characteristic of early thymic precursor cells, and many of the T-cell ALL patients with ABGD have an immunophenotype consistent with the diagnosis of early T-cell precursor phenotype.
Up to one-third of childhood ALL cases have leukemia
cells that express myeloid-associated surface antigens. Myeloid-associated antigen expression
appears to be associated with specific ALL subgroups, notably those with MLL translocations and those with the ETV6-RUNX1 gene rearrangement.[103][104] No independent adverse prognostic significance exists for
myeloid-surface antigen expression.[103][104]
Leukemia of ambiguous lineage
Less than 5% of cases of acute leukemia in children are of ambiguous lineage, expressing features of both myeloid and lymphoid lineage.[105][106][107] These cases are distinct from ALL with myeloid coexpression in that the predominant lineage cannot be determined by immunophenotypic and histochemical studies. The definition of leukemia of ambiguous lineage varies among studies. However, most investigators now use criteria established by the European Group for the Immunological Characterization of Leukemias (EGIL) or the more stringent WHO criteria.[108][109][110] In the WHO classification, the presence of myeloperoxidase is required to establish myeloid lineage. This is not the case for the EGIL classification.
Leukemias of mixed phenotype comprise the following two groups:[105]
A number of recurrent chromosomal abnormalities have been shown to have prognostic significance, especially in B-precursor ALL. Some chromosomal abnormalities are associated with more favorable outcomes, such as high hyperdiploidy (51–65 chromosomes) and the ETV6-RUNX1 fusion. Others are associated with a poorer prognosis, including the Philadelphia chromosome (t(9;22)), rearrangements of the MLL gene (chromosome 11q23), and intrachromosomal amplification of the AML1 gene (iAMP21).[112]
Prognostically significant chromosomal abnormalities in childhood ALL include the following:
High hyperdiploidy, defined as 51 to 65 chromosomes per cell or a DNA index greater than 1.16, occurs in 20% to 25%
of cases of precursor B-cell ALL, but very rarely in cases of T-cell ALL.[113]
Hyperdiploidy can be evaluated by measuring the DNA content of cells (DNA
index) or by karyotyping. In cases with a normal karyotype or in which standard cytogenetic analysis was unsuccessful, interphase FISH may detect hidden hyperdiploidy. High hyperdiploidy generally occurs in cases with
clinically favorable prognostic factors (patients aged 1 to <10 years with a low WBC count) and is itself
an independent favorable prognostic factor.[19][113][114] Within the hyperdiploid range of 51 to 66 chromosomes, patients with higher modal numbers (58–66) appeared to have a better prognosis in one study.[19] Hyperdiploid leukemia cells are particularly susceptible to undergoing apoptosis and accumulate higher levels of methotrexate and its active polyglutamate metabolites,[115] which may explain the favorable outcome commonly observed in these cases.
While the overall outcome of patients with high hyperdiploidy is considered to be favorable, factors such as age, WBC count, specific trisomies, and early response to treatment have been shown to modify its prognostic significance.[116]
Patients with trisomies of chromosomes 4, 10, and 17 (triple trisomies) have been shown to have a particularly favorable outcome as demonstrated by both Pediatric Oncology Group (POG) and Children's Cancer Group (CCG) analyses of NCI standard-risk ALL.[117] POG data suggest that NCI standard-risk patients with trisomies of 4 and 10, without regard to chromosome 17 status, have an excellent prognosis.[118]
Chromosomal translocations may be seen with high hyperdiploidy, and in those cases, patients are more appropriately risk-classified based on the prognostic significance of the translocation. For instance, in one study, 8% of patients with the Philadelphia chromosome (t(9;22)) also had high hyperdiploidy,[119] and the outcome of these patients (treated without tyrosine kinase inhibitors) was inferior to that observed in non-Philadelphia chromosome–positive (Ph+) high hyperdiploid patients.
Certain patients with hyperdiploid ALL may have a hypodiploid clone that has doubled (masked hypodiploidy).[120] These cases may be interpretable based on the pattern of gains and losses of specific chromosomes. These patients have an unfavorable outcome, similar to those with hypodiploidy.[120]
Near triploidy (68–80 chromosomes) and near tetraploidy (>80 chromosomes) are much less common and appear to be biologically distinct from high hyperdiploidy.[121] Unlike high hyperdiploidy, a high proportion of near tetraploid cases harbor a cryptic ETV6-RUNX1 fusion.[121][122][123] Near triploidy and tetraploidy were previously thought to be associated with an unfavorable prognosis, but later studies suggest that this may not be the case.[121][123]
Precursor B-cell ALL cases with fewer than the normal number of chromosomes have been subdivided in various ways, with one report stratifying based on modal chromosome number into the following four groups:[120]
Most patients with hypodiploidy are in the near-haploid and low-hypodiploid groups, and both of these groups have an elevated risk of treatment failure compared with nonhypodiploid cases.[120][124] Patients with fewer than 44 chromosomes have a worse outcome than do patients with 44 or 45 chromosomes in their leukemic cells.[120]
The recurring genomic alterations of near-haploid and low-hypodiploid ALL appear to be distinctive from each other and from other types of ALL.[125] In near-haploid ALL, alterations targeting receptor tyrosine kinase signaling, Ras signaling, and IKZF3 are common. In low-hypodiploid ALL, genetic alterations involving TP53, RB1, and IKZF2 are common. Importantly, the TP53 alterations observed in low-hypodiploid ALL are also present in nontumor cells in approximately 40% of cases, suggesting that these mutations are germline and that low-hypodiploid ALL represents, in some cases, a manifestation of Li-Fraumeni syndrome.[125]
Fusion of the ETV6 gene on
chromosome 12 to the RUNX1 gene on chromosome 21 can be detected in 20%
to 25% of cases of B-precursor ALL but is rarely observed in T-cell
ALL.[122] The t(12;21) occurs most commonly in children aged 2 to 9 years.[126][127] Hispanic children with ALL have a lower incidence of t(12;21) than do white children.[128]
Reports generally indicate favorable EFS and OS in children with the ETV6-RUNX1 fusion; however, the prognostic impact of this genetic feature is modified by the following factors: [129][130][131][132]
In one study of the treatment of newly diagnosed children with ALL, multivariate analysis of prognostic factors found age and leukocyte count, but not ETV6-RUNX1, to be independent prognostic factors.[129] There is a higher frequency of late relapses in patients with ETV6-RUNX1 fusion compared with other B-precursor ALL.[129][133] Patients with the ETV6-RUNX1 fusion who relapse seem to have a better outcome than other relapse patients,[134] with an especially favorable prognosis for patients who relapse more than 36 months from diagnosis.[135] Some relapses in patients with t(12;21) may represent a new independent second hit in a persistent preleukemic clone (with the first hit being the ETV6-RUNX1 translocation).[136][137]
The Philadelphia chromosome t(9;22) is present in approximately 3% of children with
ALL and leads to production of a BCR-ABL1 fusion protein with tyrosine kinase activity (see Figure 2).
This subtype of ALL is more common in older children with precursor B-cell ALL and high WBC count.
Historically, the Philadelphia chromosome t(9;22) was associated with an extremely poor prognosis (especially in those who presented with a high WBC count or had a slow early response to initial therapy), and its presence had been considered an indication for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in patients in first remission.[119][138][139][140] Inhibitors of the BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase, such as imatinib mesylate, are effective in patients with Ph+ ALL.[141] A study by the COG, which used intensive chemotherapy and concurrent imatinib mesylate given daily, demonstrated a 3-year EFS rate of 80.5%, which was superior to the EFS rate of historical controls in the pre-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (imatinib mesylate) era.[141][142] Longer follow-up is necessary to determine whether this treatment improves the cure rate or merely prolongs DFS.
Translocations involving the MLL (11q23) gene occur in up to 5% of
childhood ALL cases and are generally associated with an increased risk of treatment failure.[71][143][144][145] The t(4;11) translocation is the most common translocation involving
the MLL gene in children with ALL and occurs in approximately 2% of cases.[143]
Patients with the t(4;11) translocation are usually infants with high WBC counts; they are more likely than other children with ALL to have CNS disease and to
have a poor response to initial therapy.[10] While both infants and adults
with the t(4;11) translocation are at high risk of treatment failure, children with the
t(4;11) translocation appear to have a better outcome than either infants or adults.[71][143] Irrespective of the type of MLL gene rearrangement, infants with leukemia cells that have MLL gene rearrangements have a worse treatment outcome than older patients whose leukemia cells have an MLL gene rearrangement.[71][143] Deletion of the MLL gene has not been associated with an adverse prognosis.[146]
Of interest, the t(11;19)
translocation involving MLL and MLLT1/ENL occurs in approximately 1% of ALL cases and occurs in both early B-lineage
and T-cell ALL.[147] Outcome for infants with the t(11;19) translocation is poor, but outcome
appears relatively favorable in older children with T-cell ALL and the t(11;19) translocation.[147]
The t(1;19) translocation occurs in approximately 5% of childhood ALL cases and involves
fusion of the E2A gene on chromosome 19 to the PBX1 gene on chromosome
1.[73][74] The t(1;19) translocation may occur as either a balanced translocation or as an
unbalanced translocation and is primarily associated with pre-B ALL
immunophenotype (cytoplasmic Ig positive). Black children are more likely than white children to have pre-B ALL with the t(1;19).[148]
The t(1;19) translocation had been associated with inferior outcome in the context of antimetabolite-based therapy,[149] but the adverse prognostic significance was largely negated by more aggressive multiagent therapies.[74][150] However, in a trial conducted by SJCRH on which all patients were treated without cranial radiation, patients with the t(1;19) translocation had an overall outcome comparable to children lacking this translocation, with a higher risk of CNS relapse and a lower rate of bone marrow relapse, suggesting that more intensive CNS therapy may be needed for these patients.[44][151]
Numerous new genetic lesions have been discovered by various array comparative hybridization and next-generation sequencing methods. Appreciation of these submicroscopic genomic abnormalities and mutations is redefining the subclassification of ALL:[152][153][154][155][156][157][158]
Multiple reports have documented the adverse prognostic significance of an IKZF1 deletion, and most studies have reported that this deletion is an independent predictor of poor outcome on multivariate analyses.[152][162][164][165][166][167][168][169]
Although the results of several retrospective studies suggest that CRLF2 abnormalities may have adverse prognostic significance on univariate analyses, most do not find this abnormality to be an independent predictor of outcome.[155][170][171][172][174] For example, in a large European study, increased expression of CRLF2 was not associated with unfavorable outcome in multivariate analysis, while IKZF1 deletion and BCR-ABL-like expression signatures were associated with unfavorable outcome.[169] There is also controversy about whether the prognostic significance of CRLF2 abnormalities should be analyzed based on CRLF2 overexpression or on the presence of CRLF2 genomic alterations.[155][174]
A number of polymorphisms of genes involved in the metabolism of chemotherapeutic agents have been reported to have prognostic significance in childhood ALL.[175][176][177] For example, patients with mutant phenotypes of thiopurine methyltransferase (a gene involved in the metabolism of thiopurines, such as 6-mercaptopurine), appear to have more favorable outcomes,[178] although such patients may also be at higher risk of developing significant treatment-related toxicities, including myelosuppression and infection.[179][180]
Genome-wide polymorphism analysis has identified specific single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with high end-induction minimal residual disease (MRD) and risk of relapse. Polymorphisms
of IL-15, as well as genes associated with the metabolism of etoposide and methotrexate, were significantly associated with treatment response in two large cohorts of ALL patients treated on SJCRH and COG protocols.[181] Polymorphic variants involving the reduced folate carrier and methotrexate metabolism have been linked to toxicity and outcome.[182][183] While these associations suggest that individual variations in drug metabolism can affect outcome, few studies have
attempted to adjust for these variations; whether individualized dose modification based on these findings will improve outcome is unknown.
The rapidity with which leukemia cells are eliminated after initiation of
treatment and the level of residual disease at the end of induction are associated with long-term outcome. Because treatment response is influenced by the drug sensitivity of leukemic cells and host pharmacodynamics and pharmacogenomics,[184] early response has strong prognostic significance. Various ways of evaluating the
leukemia cell response to treatment have been utilized, including the following:
Morphologic assessment of residual leukemia in blood or bone marrow is often difficult and is relatively insensitive. Traditionally, a cutoff of 5% blasts in the bone marrow (detected by light microscopy) has been used to determine remission status. This corresponds to a level of 1 in 20 malignant cells. If one wishes to detect lower levels of leukemic cells in either blood or marrow, specialized techniques such as PCR assays, which determine unique Ig/T-cell receptor gene rearrangements, fusion transcripts produced by chromosome translocations, or flow cytometric assays, which detect leukemia-specific immunophenotypes, are required. With these techniques, detection of as few as 1 leukemia cell in 100,000 normal cells is possible, and MRD at the level of 1 in 10,000 cells can be detected routinely.[185]
Multiple studies have demonstrated that end-induction MRD is an important, independent predictor of outcome in children and adolescents with B-lineage ALL.[130][186][187][188][189] MRD response discriminates outcome in subsets of patients defined by age, leukocyte count, and cytogenetic abnormalities.[190] Patients with higher levels of end-induction MRD have a poorer prognosis than those with lower or undetectable levels.[130][185][186][187][191] End-induction MRD is used by almost all groups as a factor determining the intensity of postinduction treatment, with patients found to have higher levels allocated to more intensive therapies. MRD levels at earlier (e.g., day 8 and day 15 of induction) and later time points (e.g., week 12 of therapy) also predict outcome.[130][185][187][190][191][192][193][194][195]
MRD measurements, in conjunction with other presenting features, have also been used to identify subsets of patients with an extremely low risk of relapse. The COG reported a very favorable prognosis (5-year EFS of 97% ± 1%) for patients with B-precursor phenotype, NCI standard risk age/leukocyte count, CNS1 status, and favorable cytogenetic abnormalities (either high hyperdiploidy with favorable trisomies or the ETV6-RUNX1 fusion) who had less than 0.01% MRD levels at both day 8 (from peripheral blood) and end-induction (from bone marrow).[130]
There are fewer studies documenting the prognostic significance of MRD in T-cell ALL. In the AIEOP-BFM ALL 2000 trial, MRD status at day 78 (week 12) was the most important predictor for relapse in patients with T-cell ALL. Patients with detectable MRD at end-induction who had negative MRD by day 78 did just as well as patients who achieved MRD-negativity at the earlier end-induction time point. Thus, unlike in B-cell precursor ALL, end-induction MRD levels were irrelevant in those patients whose MRD was negative at day 78. A high MRD level at day 78 was associated with a significantly higher risk of relapse.[195]
There are few studies of MRD in the CSF. In one study, MRD was documented in about one-half of children at diagnosis.[196] In this study, CSF MRD was not found to be prognostic when intensive chemotherapy was given.
Although MRD is the most important prognostic factor in determining outcome, there
are no data to conclusively show that modifying therapy based on MRD determination significantly improves outcome in newly diagnosed ALL.[190] However, the UKALL 2003 study demonstrated that reduction of therapy (i.e., one rather than two courses of delayed intensification) did not adversely impact outcome in non-high–risk patients with favorable end-induction MRD.[197][Level of evidence: 1iiDii]
Patients who have a rapid reduction
in leukemia cells to less than 5% in their bone marrow within 7 or 14 days after the
initiation of multiagent chemotherapy have a more favorable prognosis than do
patients who have slower clearance of leukemia cells from the bone marrow.[198] MRD assessments at the end of induction therapy have generally replaced day 7 and day 14 morphological assessments as response to therapy prognostic indicators because the latter lose their prognostic significance in multivariate analysis once MRD is included in the analyses.[130][199]
Patients with a reduction in
peripheral blast count to less than 1,000/µL after a 7-day induction prophase
with prednisone and one dose of intrathecal methotrexate (a good prednisone
response) have a more favorable prognosis than do patients whose peripheral blast
counts remain above 1,000/µL (a poor prednisone response).[17] Poor prednisone response is observed in fewer than 10% of patients.[17][200] Treatment
stratification for protocols of the Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster (BFM) clinical trials group is partially based
on early response to the 7-day prednisone prophase (administered immediately before the initiation of multiagent remission induction).
Patients with
persistent circulating leukemia cells at 7 to 10 days after the initiation of
multiagent chemotherapy are at increased risk of relapse compared with patients
who have clearance of peripheral blasts within 1 week of therapy
initiation.[201] Rate of clearance of peripheral blasts has been found to be
of prognostic significance in both T-cell and B-lineage ALL.[201]
MRD using peripheral blood obtained 1 week after the initiation of multiagent induction chemotherapy has also been evaluated as an early response-to-therapy prognostic factor. In a COG study involving nearly 2,000 children with ALL, the presence of MRD in the peripheral blood at day 8 was associated with adverse prognosis, with increasing MRD levels being associated with a progressively poorer outcome.[130] In multivariate analysis, end of induction therapy MRD was the most powerful prognostic factor, but day 8 peripheral blood MRD maintained its prognostic significance, as did NCI risk group and the presence of favorable trisomies. A smaller study assessed the prognostic significance of peripheral blood MRD at day 15 after 1 week of a steroid prophase and 1 week of multiagent induction therapy.[202] This study also observed multivariate significance for peripheral blood MRD levels after 1 week of multiagent induction therapy. Both studies identified a group of patients who achieved low MRD levels after 1 week of multiagent induction therapy who had a low rate of subsequent treatment failure.
The vast majority of children with ALL achieve complete morphologic remission by the end of the first month of treatment. The presence of greater than 5% lymphoblasts at the end of the induction phase is observed in up to 5% of children with ALL.[203] Patients at highest risk of induction failure have one or more of the following features:[204][205]
In a large retrospective study, the OS of patients with induction failure was only 32%.[203] However, there was significant clinical and biological heterogeneity. A relatively favorable outcome was observed in patients with B-precursor ALL between the ages of 1 and 5 years without adverse cytogenetics (MLL translocation or BCR-ABL). This group had a 10-year survival exceeding 50%, and HSCT in first remission was not associated with a survival advantage compared with chemotherapy alone for this subset. Patients with the poorest outcomes (<20% 10-year survival) included those who were aged 14 to 18 years, or who had the Philadelphia chromosome or MLL rearrangement. B-cell ALL patients younger than 6 years and T-cell ALL patients (regardless of age) appeared to have better outcomes if treated with allogeneic HSCT after achieving complete remission than those who received further treatment with chemotherapy alone.
For decades, clinical trial groups studying childhood ALL have utilized risk classification schemes to assign patients to therapeutic regimens based on their estimated risk of treatment failure. Initial risk classification systems utilized clinical factors such as age and presenting WBC count. Response to therapy measures were subsequently added, with some groups utilizing early morphologic bone marrow response (e.g., at day 8 or day 15) and with other groups utilizing response of circulating leukemia cells to single agent prednisone. Modern risk classification systems continue to utilize clinical factors such as age and presenting WBC count, and in addition, incorporate molecular characteristics of leukemia cells at diagnosis (e.g., favorable and unfavorable translocations) and response to therapy based on detection of MRD at end of induction (and in some cases at later time points). The risk classification systems of the COG and the BFM groups are briefly described below.
In COG protocols, children with ALL are initially stratified into treatment groups (with varying degrees of risk of treatment failure) based on a subset of prognostic factors, including the following:
EFS rates exceed 85% in children meeting good-risk criteria (aged 1 to <10 years, WBC count <50,000/μL, and precursor B-cell immunophenotype); in children meeting high-risk criteria, EFS rates are approximately 75%.[3][44][200][206][207] Additional factors, including cytogenetic abnormalities and measures of early response to therapy (e.g., day 7 and/or day 14 marrow blast percentage for patients with Down syndrome and MRD levels in peripheral blood on day 8 and in bone marrow samples at the end of induction), considered in conjunction with presenting age, WBC count, immunophenotype, the presence of extramedullary disease, and steroid pretreatment can identify patient groups for postinduction therapy with expected EFS
rates ranging from less than 40% to more than 95%.[3][130]
Patients who are at very high risk of treatment failure include the following: [9][208][209][210]
Since 2000, risk stratification on BFM protocols has been based almost solely on treatment response criteria. In addition to prednisone prophase response, treatment response is assessed via MRD measurements at two time points, end induction (week 5) and end consolidation (week 12).
The BFM risk groups include the following:[190]
Phenotype, leukemic cell mass estimate, also known as BFM risk factor, and CNS status at diagnosis do not factor into the current risk classification schema. However, patients with either the t(9;22) or the t(4;11) are considered high risk, regardless of early response measures.
COG AALL08B1(Classification of Newly Diagnosed ALL): COG protocol AALL08B1 stratifies four risk groups for patients with B-precursor ALL (low risk, average risk, high risk, and very high risk) based on the following criteria:
Morphologic assessment of early response in the bone marrow is no longer performed on days 8 and 15 of induction as part of risk stratification. Patients with T-cell phenotype are treated on a separate study and are not risk classified in this way.
For patients with B-precursor ALL:
The four risk groups for B-precursor ALL are defined in Table 1.
Low Risk
Average Risk
High Risk
Very High Risk
NCI Risk (Age/WBC)
HR (age <13 y)
HR (age ≥13 y)
SR or HR
Favorable Genetics
Unfavorable Characteristics
Day 8 PB MRD
Any Level
Any Level
Day 29 Marrow MRD
% of Patients (Estimated)
Anticipated 5-year EFS
EFS = event-free survival; HR = age and WBC count risk group is high risk; MRD = minimal residual disease; NCI = National Cancer Institute; PB = peripheral blood; SR = age/WBC count risk group is standard risk; WBC = white blood cell.
aFrom the Children's Oncology Group Classification of Newly Diagnosed ALL protocol.
AALL0434 (NCT00408005) (Combination Chemotherapy in Treating Young Patients With Newly Diagnosed T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia or T-cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma): For patients with T-cell ALL, COG uses the following criteria to assign risk category:
DFCI-11-001 (NCT01574274) (SC-PEG Asparaginase vs. Oncaspar in Pediatric ALL and Lymphoblastic Lymphoma): On the current clinical trial conducted by the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute ALL Consortium, patients with B-precursor ALL are initially classified as either standard risk or high risk based on age, presenting leukocyte count, and the presence or absence of CNS disease (CNS3). At the completion of a five-drug remission induction regimen (4 weeks from diagnosis), the level of MRD is determined via PCR assay. Patients with high MRD (≥0.001) are classified as very high risk and receive a more intensive postremission consolidation. Patients with low MRD (<0.001) continue to receive treatment based on their initial risk group classification. The goal of this new classification schema is to determine whether intensification of therapy will improve the outcome of patients with high MRD at the end of remission induction. Patients with T-cell ALL are treated as high risk, regardless of MRD status. All patients with MLL translocations or hypodiploidy (<44 chromosomes) are classified as very high risk, regardless of MRD status or phenotype. Ph+ patients are removed from study midinduction and are eligible to enroll on the COG protocol for patients with Ph+ ALL.
SJCRH (Total XVI): Patients are classified into one of three categories (low, standard, or high risk) based on the presenting age, leukocyte count, presence or absence of CNS3 status or testicular leukemia, immunophenotype, cytogenetics and molecular genetics, DNA index, and early response to therapy. Hence, definitive risk assignment (for provisional low-risk or standard-risk cases based on presenting features) will be made after completion of remission induction therapy. The criteria and the estimated proportion of patients in each category (based on data from TOTXV study) are provided below.
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Harvey RC, Mullighan CG, Wang X, et al.: Identification of novel cluster groups in pediatric high-risk B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia with gene expression profiling: correlation with genome-wide DNA copy number alterations, clinical characteristics, and outcome. Blood 116 (23): 4874-84, 2010.
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Pui CH, Mullighan CG, Evans WE, et al.: Pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia: where are we going and how do we get there? Blood 120 (6): 1165-74, 2012.
Roberts KG, Morin RD, Zhang J, et al.: Genetic alterations activating kinase and cytokine receptor signaling in high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Cancer Cell 22 (2): 153-66, 2012.
Mullighan CG: Molecular genetics of B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia. J Clin Invest 122 (10): 3407-15, 2012.
Moorman AV, Richards SM, Robinson HM, et al.: Prognosis of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and intrachromosomal amplification of chromosome 21 (iAMP21). Blood 109 (6): 2327-30, 2007.
Attarbaschi A, Mann G, Panzer-Grümayer R, et al.: Minimal residual disease values discriminate between low and high relapse risk in children with B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia and an intrachromosomal amplification of chromosome 21: the Austrian and German acute lymphoblastic leukemia Berlin-Frankfurt-Munster (ALL-BFM) trials. J Clin Oncol 26 (18): 3046-50, 2008.
Mullighan CG, Goorha S, Radtke I, et al.: Genome-wide analysis of genetic alterations in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Nature 446 (7137): 758-64, 2007.
Mullighan CG, Miller CB, Radtke I, et al.: BCR-ABL1 lymphoblastic leukaemia is characterized by the deletion of Ikaros. Nature 453 (7191): 110-4, 2008.
Den Boer ML, van Slegtenhorst M, De Menezes RX, et al.: A subtype of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia with poor treatment outcome: a genome-wide classification study. Lancet Oncol 10 (2): 125-34, 2009.
Mullighan CG, Su X, Zhang J, et al.: Deletion of IKZF1 and prognosis in acute lymphoblastic leukemia. N Engl J Med 360 (5): 470-80, 2009.
Krentz S, Hof J, Mendioroz A, et al.: Prognostic value of genetic alterations in children with first bone marrow relapse of childhood B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Leukemia 27 (2): 295-304, 2013.
Feng J, Tang Y: Prognostic significance of IKZF1 alteration status in pediatric B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a meta-analysis. Leuk Lymphoma 54 (4): 889-91, 2013.
Dörge P, Meissner B, Zimmermann M, et al.: IKZF1 deletion is an independent predictor of outcome in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated according to the ALL-BFM 2000 protocol. Haematologica 98 (3): 428-32, 2013.
van der Veer A, Waanders E, Pieters R, et al.: Independent prognostic value of BCR-ABL1-like signature and IKZF1 deletion, but not high CRLF2 expression, in children with B-cell precursor ALL. Blood 122 (15): 2622-9, 2013.
Cario G, Zimmermann M, Romey R, et al.: Presence of the P2RY8-CRLF2 rearrangement is associated with a poor prognosis in non-high-risk precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children treated according to the ALL-BFM 2000 protocol. Blood 115 (26): 5393-7, 2010.
Ensor HM, Schwab C, Russell LJ, et al.: Demographic, clinical, and outcome features of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and CRLF2 deregulation: results from the MRC ALL97 clinical trial. Blood 117 (7): 2129-36, 2011.
Loh ML, Zhang J, Harvey RC, et al.: Tyrosine kinome sequencing of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a report from the Children's Oncology Group TARGET Project. Blood 121 (3): 485-8, 2013.
Palmi C, Vendramini E, Silvestri D, et al.: Poor prognosis for P2RY8-CRLF2 fusion but not for CRLF2 over-expression in children with intermediate risk B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Leukemia 26 (10): 2245-53, 2012.
Davies SM, Bhatia S, Ross JA, et al.: Glutathione S-transferase genotypes, genetic susceptibility, and outcome of therapy in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Blood 100 (1): 67-71, 2002.
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Krajinovic M, Lemieux-Blanchard E, Chiasson S, et al.: Role of polymorphisms in MTHFR and MTHFD1 genes in the outcome of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Pharmacogenomics J 4 (1): 66-72, 2004.
Schmiegelow K, Forestier E, Kristinsson J, et al.: Thiopurine methyltransferase activity is related to the risk of relapse of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia: results from the NOPHO ALL-92 study. Leukemia 23 (3): 557-64, 2009.
Relling MV, Hancock ML, Boyett JM, et al.: Prognostic importance of 6-mercaptopurine dose intensity in acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Blood 93 (9): 2817-23, 1999.
Stanulla M, Schaeffeler E, Flohr T, et al.: Thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT) genotype and early treatment response to mercaptopurine in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. JAMA 293 (12): 1485-9, 2005.
Yang JJ, Cheng C, Yang W, et al.: Genome-wide interrogation of germline genetic variation associated with treatment response in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. JAMA 301 (4): 393-403, 2009.
Gregers J, Christensen IJ, Dalhoff K, et al.: The association of reduced folate carrier 80G>A polymorphism to outcome in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia interacts with chromosome 21 copy number. Blood 115 (23): 4671-7, 2010.
Radtke S, Zolk O, Renner B, et al.: Germline genetic variations in methotrexate candidate genes are associated with pharmacokinetics, toxicity, and outcome in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Blood 121 (26): 5145-53, 2013.
Relling MV, Dervieux T: Pharmacogenetics and cancer therapy. Nat Rev Cancer 1 (2): 99-108, 2001.
van Dongen JJ, Seriu T, Panzer-Grümayer ER, et al.: Prognostic value of minimal residual disease in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in childhood. Lancet 352 (9142): 1731-8, 1998.
Zhou J, Goldwasser MA, Li A, et al.: Quantitative analysis of minimal residual disease predicts relapse in children with B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia in DFCI ALL Consortium Protocol 95-01. Blood 110 (5): 1607-11, 2007.
Coustan-Smith E, Sancho J, Hancock ML, et al.: Use of peripheral blood instead of bone marrow to monitor residual disease in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Blood 100 (7): 2399-402, 2002.
Yamaji K, Okamoto T, Yokota S, et al.: Minimal residual disease-based augmented therapy in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a report from the Japanese Childhood Cancer and Leukemia Study Group. Pediatr Blood Cancer 55 (7): 1287-95, 2010.
Marshall GM, Dalla Pozza L, Sutton R, et al.: High-risk childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia in first remission treated with novel intensive chemotherapy and allogeneic transplantation. Leukemia 27 (7): 1497-503, 2013.
Conter V, Bartram CR, Valsecchi MG, et al.: Molecular response to treatment redefines all prognostic factors in children and adolescents with B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia: results in 3184 patients of the AIEOP-BFM ALL 2000 study. Blood 115 (16): 3206-14, 2010.
Stow P, Key L, Chen X, et al.: Clinical significance of low levels of minimal residual disease at the end of remission induction therapy in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Blood 115 (23): 4657-63, 2010.
Basso G, Veltroni M, Valsecchi MG, et al.: Risk of relapse of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia is predicted by flow cytometric measurement of residual disease on day 15 bone marrow. J Clin Oncol 27 (31): 5168-74, 2009.
Panzer-Grümayer ER, Schneider M, Panzer S, et al.: Rapid molecular response during early induction chemotherapy predicts a good outcome in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Blood 95 (3): 790-4, 2000.
Coustan-Smith E, Sancho J, Behm FG, et al.: Prognostic importance of measuring early clearance of leukemic cells by flow cytometry in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Blood 100 (1): 52-8, 2002.
Schrappe M, Valsecchi MG, Bartram CR, et al.: Late MRD response determines relapse risk overall and in subsets of childhood T-cell ALL: results of the AIEOP-BFM-ALL 2000 study. Blood 118 (8): 2077-84, 2011.
Biojone E, Queiróz Rde P, Valera ET, et al.: Minimal residual disease in cerebrospinal fluid at diagnosis: a more intensive treatment protocol was able to eliminate the adverse prognosis in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Leuk Lymphoma 53 (1): 89-95, 2012.
Vora A, Goulden N, Wade R, et al.: Treatment reduction for children and young adults with low-risk acute lymphoblastic leukaemia defined by minimal residual disease (UKALL 2003): a randomised controlled trial. Lancet Oncol 14 (3): 199-209, 2013.
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Borowitz MJ, Wood BL, Devidas M, et al.: Assessment of end induction minimal residual disease (MRD) in childhood B precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) to eliminate the need for day 14 marrow examination: A Children's Oncology Group study. [Abstract] J Clin Oncol 31 (Suppl 15): A-10001, 2013. Also available online. Last accessed April 04, 2014.
Griffin TC, Shuster JJ, Buchanan GR, et al.: Slow disappearance of peripheral blood blasts is an adverse prognostic factor in childhood T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a Pediatric Oncology Group study. Leukemia 14 (5): 792-5, 2000.
Volejnikova J, Mejstrikova E, Valova T, et al.: Minimal residual disease in peripheral blood at day 15 identifies a subgroup of childhood B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia with superior prognosis. Haematologica 96 (12): 1815-21, 2011.
Schrappe M, Hunger SP, Pui CH, et al.: Outcomes after induction failure in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. N Engl J Med 366 (15): 1371-81, 2012.
Silverman LB, Gelber RD, Young ML, et al.: Induction failure in acute lymphoblastic leukemia of childhood. Cancer 85 (6): 1395-404, 1999.
Oudot C, Auclerc MF, Levy V, et al.: Prognostic factors for leukemic induction failure in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and outcome after salvage therapy: the FRALLE 93 study. J Clin Oncol 26 (9): 1496-503, 2008.
Balduzzi A, Valsecchi MG, Uderzo C, et al.: Chemotherapy versus allogeneic transplantation for very-high-risk childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in first complete remission: comparison by genetic randomisation in an international prospective study. Lancet 366 (9486): 635-42, 2005 Aug 20-26.
Schrauder A, Reiter A, Gadner H, et al.: Superiority of allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation compared with chemotherapy alone in high-risk childhood T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia: results from ALL-BFM 90 and 95. J Clin Oncol 24 (36): 5742-9, 2006.
Ribera JM, Ortega JJ, Oriol A, et al.: Comparison of intensive chemotherapy, allogeneic, or autologous stem-cell transplantation as postremission treatment for children with very high risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia: PETHEMA ALL-93 Trial. J Clin Oncol 25 (1): 16-24, 2007.
Children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) should be cared for at a center with specialized expertise in pediatric cancer.[1] Treatment planning by a multidisciplinary team of pediatric cancer specialists with experience and expertise in treating leukemias of childhood is required to determine and implement optimum treatment.
Treatment of childhood ALL typically involves chemotherapy given for 2 to 3 years. Since myelosuppression and generalized immunosuppression are anticipated consequences of leukemia and chemotherapy treatment, patients must be closely monitored at diagnosis and during treatment.
Adequate facilities must be immediately available both for hematologic support and for the treatment of infections and other complications throughout all phases of therapy. Approximately 1% to 3% of patients die during induction therapy and another 1% to 3% die during the initial remission from treatment-related complications.[2][3]
Clinical trials are generally available for children with ALL, with specific protocols designed for children at standard (low) risk of treatment failure and for children at higher risk of treatment failure. Clinical trials for children with ALL are generally designed to compare therapy that is currently accepted as standard for a particular risk group with a potentially better treatment approach that may improve survival outcome and/or diminish toxicities associated with the standard treatment regimen. Many of the therapeutic innovations that produced increased survival rates in children with ALL were established through clinical trials, and it is appropriate for children and adolescents with ALL to be offered participation in a clinical trial.
Risk-based treatment assignment is an important therapeutic strategy utilized for
children with ALL. This approach allows
children who historically have a very good outcome to be treated with less intensive therapy and to be
spared more toxic treatments, while allowing children with a
historically lower probability of long-term survival to receive stronger
therapy that may increase their chance of cure. (Refer to the Risk-based Treatment Assignment section of this summary for more information about a number of
clinical and laboratory features that have demonstrated prognostic value.)
Treatment for children with ALL is typically divided as follows:
Historically, certain extramedullary sites have been considered sanctuary sites (i.e., anatomic spaces that are poorly penetrated by many of the systemically administered chemotherapy agents typically used to treat ALL). The two most important sanctuary sites in childhood ALL are the central nervous system (CNS) and the testes. Successful treatment of ALL requires therapy that effectively addresses clinical or subclinical involvement of leukemia in these extramedullary sanctuary sites.
Approximately 3% of patients have detectable CNS involvement by conventional criteria at diagnosis (cerebrospinal fluid specimen with ≥5 WBC/μL with lymphoblasts and/or the presence of cranial nerve palsies). However, unless specific therapy is directed toward the CNS, the majority of children will eventually develop overt CNS leukemia. CNS-directed treatments include intrathecal chemotherapy, CNS-directed systemic chemotherapy, and cranial radiation; some or all of these are included in current regimens for ALL. (Refer to the CNS-directed Therapy for Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia section of this summary for more information.)
Overt testicular involvement at the time of diagnosis occurs in approximately 2% of males. In early ALL trials, testicular involvement at diagnosis was an adverse prognostic factor. With more aggressive initial therapy, however, the prognostic significance of initial testicular involvement is unclear.[4][5] The role of radiation therapy for testicular involvement is also unclear. A study from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital suggests that a good outcome can be achieved with aggressive conventional chemotherapy without radiation.[4] The Children's Oncology Group has also adopted this strategy for boys with testicular involvement that resolves completely during induction chemotherapy.
Corrigan JJ, Feig SA; American Academy of Pediatrics: Guidelines for pediatric cancer centers. Pediatrics 113 (6): 1833-5, 2004.
Rubnitz JE, Lensing S, Zhou Y, et al.: Death during induction therapy and first remission of acute leukemia in childhood: the St. Jude experience. Cancer 101 (7): 1677-84, 2004.
Christensen MS, Heyman M, Möttönen M, et al.: Treatment-related death in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in the Nordic countries: 1992-2001. Br J Haematol 131 (1): 50-8, 2005.
Standard treatment options for newly diagnosed childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) include the following:
The goal of the first phase of therapy (remission induction) is to induce a complete remission (CR). This phase typically lasts 4 weeks. Overall, approximately 98% of patients with newly diagnosed B-precursor ALL achieve CR by the end of this phase, with somewhat lower rates in patients with T-cell ALL or high presenting leukocyte counts.[1][2][3][4][5]
Induction chemotherapy consists of the following drugs, with or without an anthracycline:
The Children's Oncology Group (COG) protocols do not administer anthracycline during induction to patients with National Cancer Institute standard-risk precursor B-cell ALL.
Patients treated by the following study groups receive an induction regimen with four or more drugs regardless of presenting features:
The most common four-drug induction regimen is vincristine, corticosteroid (either dexamethasone or prednisone), L-asparaginase, and either doxorubicin or daunorubicin.[6] In a randomized trial of doxorubicin and daunorubicin during induction, there were no differences between these two agents in early response measures, including reduction in peripheral blood blast counts during the first week of therapy, day 15 marrow morphology, and end-induction minimal residual disease (MRD) levels.[6][Level of evidence: 1iiDiv] Some studies have suggested that this more intensive induction regimen may result in improved event-free survival (EFS) in patients presenting with high-risk features, but it may not be necessary for favorable outcome provided that adequate postremission intensification therapy is administered.[7][8] The COG reserves the use of a four-drug induction for patients with high-risk B-precursor ALL and T-cell ALL.
Many current regimens utilize dexamethasone instead of prednisone during remission induction and later phases of therapy.
Evidence (dexamethasone):
The ratio of dexamethasone to prednisone dose used may influence outcome. Studies in which the dexamethasone to prednisone ratio was 1:5 to 1:7 have shown a better result for dexamethasone, while studies that used a 1:10 ratio have shown similar outcomes.[13]
While dexamethasone may be more effective than prednisone, data also suggest that dexamethasone may be more toxic, especially in the context of more intensive induction regimens and in adolescents.[14] Several reports indicate that dexamethasone may increase the frequency and severity of infections and/or other complications in patients receiving anthracycline-containing induction regimens.[15][16] The increased risk of infection with dexamethasone during the induction phase has not been noted with three-drug induction regimens (vincristine, dexamethasone, and L-asparaginase).[10] Dexamethasone appears to have a greater suppressive effect on short-term linear growth than prednisone [17] and has been associated with a higher risk of osteonecrosis, especially in patients aged 10 years and older.
Several forms of L-asparaginase have been used in the treatment of
children with ALL, including the following:
Only PEG-L-asparaginase and Erwinia L-asparaginase are available in the United States. Native E. coli L-asparaginase remains available in other countries.
PEG-L-asparaginase, a form of L-asparaginase in which the Escherichia coli-derived enzyme is modified by the covalent attachment of polyethylene glycol, is the most common preparation used during both induction and postinduction phases of treatment in newly diagnosed patients.
PEG-L-asparaginase may be given either intramuscularly (IM) or intravenously (IV).[18] Pharmacokinetics and toxicity profiles are similar for IM and IV PEG-L-asparaginase administration.[18] There is no evidence that IV administration of PEG-L-asparaginase is more toxic than IM administration.[18][19]
PEG-L-asparaginase has a much longer serum half-life than native E. coli L-asparaginase, producing prolonged asparagine depletion after a single injection.[20]
Serum asparaginase enzyme activity levels of more than 0.1 IU/mL have been associated with serum asparagine depletion. Studies have shown that a single dose of PEG-L-asparaginase given either IM or IV as part of multiagent induction results in serum enzyme activity (>0.1 IU/mL) in nearly all patients for at least 2 to 3 weeks.[18][19][21]
Evidence (use of PEG-L-asparaginase instead of native E. coli L-asparaginase):
Patients with an allergic reaction to PEG-L-asparaginase should be switched to Erwinia L-asparaginase.
Erwinia L-asparaginase is typically used in patients who have experienced allergy to native E. coli or PEG-L-asparaginase.
The half-life of Erwinia L-asparaginase (0.65 days) is much shorter than that of native E. coli (1.2 days) or PEG-L-asparaginase (5.7 days).[20] If Erwinia L-asparaginase is utilized, the shorter half-life of the Erwinia preparation requires more frequent administration to achieve adequate asparagine depletion.
Evidence (increased dose frequency of Erwinia L-asparaginase needed to achieve goal therapeutic effect):
More than 95% of children with newly diagnosed ALL will achieve a CR within the first 4
weeks of treatment. Of those who fail to achieve CR within the first 4 weeks, approximately one-half will experience a toxic death during the induction phase (usually due to infection) and the other half will have resistant disease (persistent morphologic leukemia).[24][27][28]; [29][Level of evidence: 3iA]
Patients with persistent leukemia at the end of the 4-week induction phase have a poor
prognosis and may benefit from an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) once CR is achieved.[30][31][4] In a large retrospective series, the 10-year overall survival for patients with persistent leukemia was 32%.[32] A trend for superior outcome with allogeneic HSCT compared with chemotherapy alone was observed in patients with T-cell phenotype (any age) and B-precursor patients younger than 6 years. B-precursor ALL patients who were aged 1 to 5 years at diagnosis and did not have any adverse cytogenetic abnormalities (MLL translocation, BCR-ABL) had a relatively favorable prognosis, without any advantage in outcome with the utilization of HSCT compared with chemotherapy alone.[32]
For patients who achieve CR, measures of the rapidity of blast clearance and MRD determinations have important prognostic significance, particularly the following:
(Refer to the Response to initial treatment affecting prognosis section of this summary for more information.)
(Refer to the CNS-directed Therapy for Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia section of this summary for specific information about CNS therapy to prevent CNS relapse in children with newly diagnosed ALL.)
Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with untreated childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The list of clinical trials can be further narrowed by location, drug, intervention, and other criteria.
Escherich G, Zimmermann M, Janka-Schaub G, et al.: Doxorubicin or daunorubicin given upfront in a therapeutic window are equally effective in children with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia. A randomized comparison in trial CoALL 07-03. Pediatr Blood Cancer 60 (2): 254-7, 2013.
Tubergen DG, Gilchrist GS, O'Brien RT, et al.: Improved outcome with delayed intensification for children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and intermediate presenting features: a Childrens Cancer Group phase III trial. J Clin Oncol 11 (3): 527-37, 1993.
Gaynon PS, Steinherz PG, Bleyer WA, et al.: Improved therapy for children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and unfavorable presenting features: a follow-up report of the Childrens Cancer Group Study CCG-106. J Clin Oncol 11 (11): 2234-42, 1993.
Bostrom BC, Sensel MR, Sather HN, et al.: Dexamethasone versus prednisone and daily oral versus weekly intravenous mercaptopurine for patients with standard-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a report from the Children's Cancer Group. Blood 101 (10): 3809-17, 2003.
Mitchell CD, Richards SM, Kinsey SE, et al.: Benefit of dexamethasone compared with prednisolone for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: results of the UK Medical Research Council ALL97 randomized trial. Br J Haematol 129 (6): 734-45, 2005.
Igarashi S, Manabe A, Ohara A, et al.: No advantage of dexamethasone over prednisolone for the outcome of standard- and intermediate-risk childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia in the Tokyo Children's Cancer Study Group L95-14 protocol. J Clin Oncol 23 (27): 6489-98, 2005.
De Moerloose B, Suciu S, Bertrand Y, et al.: Improved outcome with pulses of vincristine and corticosteroids in continuation therapy of children with average risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and lymphoblastic non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL): report of the EORTC randomized phase 3 trial 58951. Blood 116 (1): 36-44, 2010.
McNeer JL, Nachman JB: The optimal use of steroids in paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: no easy answers. Br J Haematol 149 (5): 638-52, 2010.
Teuffel O, Kuster SP, Hunger SP, et al.: Dexamethasone versus prednisone for induction therapy in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Leukemia 25 (8): 1232-8, 2011.
Hurwitz CA, Silverman LB, Schorin MA, et al.: Substituting dexamethasone for prednisone complicates remission induction in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Cancer 88 (8): 1964-9, 2000.
Belgaumi AF, Al-Bakrah M, Al-Mahr M, et al.: Dexamethasone-associated toxicity during induction chemotherapy for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia is augmented by concurrent use of daunomycin. Cancer 97 (11): 2898-903, 2003.
Ahmed SF, Tucker P, Mushtaq T, et al.: Short-term effects on linear growth and bone turnover in children randomized to receive prednisolone or dexamethasone. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) 57 (2): 185-91, 2002.
Silverman LB, Supko JG, Stevenson KE, et al.: Intravenous PEG-asparaginase during remission induction in children and adolescents with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Blood 115 (7): 1351-3, 2010.
Rizzari C, Citterio M, Zucchetti M, et al.: A pharmacological study on pegylated asparaginase used in front-line treatment of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Haematologica 91 (1): 24-31, 2006.
Asselin BL, Whitin JC, Coppola DJ, et al.: Comparative pharmacokinetic studies of three asparaginase preparations. J Clin Oncol 11 (9): 1780-6, 1993.
Avramis VI, Sencer S, Periclou AP, et al.: A randomized comparison of native Escherichia coli asparaginase and polyethylene glycol conjugated asparaginase for treatment of children with newly diagnosed standard-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a Children's Cancer Group study. Blood 99 (6): 1986-94, 2002.
Duval M, Suciu S, Ferster A, et al.: Comparison of Escherichia coli-asparaginase with Erwinia-asparaginase in the treatment of childhood lymphoid malignancies: results of a randomized European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer-Children's Leukemia Group phase 3 trial. Blood 99 (8): 2734-9, 2002.
Vrooman LM, Supko JG, Neuberg DS, et al.: Erwinia asparaginase after allergy to E. coli asparaginase in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Pediatr Blood Cancer 54 (2): 199-205, 2010.
Salzer WL, Asselin B, Supko JG, et al.: Erwinia asparaginase achieves therapeutic activity after pegaspargase allergy: a report from the Children's Oncology Group. Blood 122 (4): 507-14, 2013.
Pui CH, Sandlund JT, Pei D, et al.: Improved outcome for children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia: results of Total Therapy Study XIIIB at St Jude Children's Research Hospital. Blood 104 (9): 2690-6, 2004.
Prucker C, Attarbaschi A, Peters C, et al.: Induction death and treatment-related mortality in first remission of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a population-based analysis of the Austrian Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster study group. Leukemia 23 (7): 1264-9, 2009.
Standard treatment options for consolidation/intensification and maintenance therapy include the following:
Central nervous system (CNS)-directed therapy is provided during premaintenance chemotherapy by all groups. Some protocols (Children's Oncology Group [COG], St. Jude Children's Research Hospital [SJCRH], and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute [DFCI]) provide ongoing intrathecal chemotherapy during maintenance, while others (Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster [BFM]) do not. (Refer to the CNS-directed Therapy for Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia section of this summary for specific information about CNS therapy to prevent CNS relapse in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia [ALL] who are receiving postinduction therapy.)
Once complete remission (CR) has been achieved, systemic treatment in conjunction with
CNS-directed therapy follows. The intensity of the
postinduction chemotherapy varies considerably depending on risk group assignment, but all patients receive some
form of intensification after the achievement of CR and before
beginning maintenance therapy.
The most commonly used intensification schema is the BFM backbone. This therapeutic backbone, first introduced by the BFM clinical trials group, includes the following:[1]
This backbone has been adopted by many groups, including the COG. Variation of this backbone includes the following:
Other clinical trial groups utilize a different therapeutic backbone during postinduction treatment phases:
In children with standard-risk ALL, there has been an attempt to limit
exposure to drugs such as anthracyclines and alkylating agents that may be
associated with an increased risk of late toxic effects.[5][6][7] For regimens utilizing a BFM backbone (such as COG), a single reinduction/delayed intensification phase, given with interim maintenance phases consisting of escalating doses of methotrexate (without leucovorin rescue) and vincristine, have been associated with favorable outcomes.[8] Favorable outcomes for standard-risk patients have also been reported by the POG, utilizing a limited number of courses of intermediate-dose or high-dose
methotrexate as consolidation followed by maintenance therapy (without a reinduction phase),[6][9][10] and by the DFCI ALL Consortium utilizing multiple doses of L-asparaginase (20–30 weeks) as consolidation, without postinduction exposure to alkylating agents or anthracyclines.[11][12]
Evidence (intensification for standard-risk ALL):
In high-risk patients, a number of different approaches have been used with
comparable efficacy.[11][19]; [17][Level of evidence: 2Di] Treatment for high-risk patients generally
is more intensive than that for standard-risk patients and typically includes higher cumulative doses of multiple agents, including anthracyclines and/or alkylating agents. Higher doses of these agents increase the risk of both short-term and long-term toxicities, and many clinical trials have focused on reducing the side effects of these intensified regimens.
Evidence (intensification for high-risk ALL):
Approximately 10% to 20% of patients with ALL are classified as very high risk, including the following:[17][28]
COG also considers patients who are aged 13 years or older to be very high risk, although this age criterion is not utilized by other groups.
Patients with very high-risk features have been treated with multiple cycles of intensive chemotherapy during the consolidation phase (usually in addition to the typical BFM-backbone intensification phases). These additional cycles often include agents not typically used in frontline ALL regimens for standard-risk and high-risk patients, such as high-dose cytarabine, ifosfamide, and etoposide.[17] However, even with this intensified approach, reported long-term EFS rates range from 30% to 50% for this patient subset.[17][29]
On some clinical trials, very high-risk patients have also been considered candidates for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in first remission, [29][30][31] although it is not clear whether outcomes are better with transplantation.
Evidence (allogeneic HSCT in first remission for very high-risk patients):
The backbone of maintenance therapy in most protocols includes daily oral
mercaptopurine and weekly oral or parenteral methotrexate. Clinical trials generally call for the administration of
oral mercaptopurine in the evening, which is supported by evidence that
this practice may improve EFS.[34] On many protocols, intrathecal chemotherapy for CNS sanctuary therapy is
continued during maintenance therapy. It is imperative to
carefully monitor children on maintenance therapy for both drug-related
toxicity and for compliance with the oral chemotherapy agents used during
maintenance therapy.[35] Nonadherence to treatment with 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) in the maintenance phase is associated with a significant increase in the risk of relapse.[35]
Treating physicians must also recognize that some patients may develop severe hematopoietic toxicity when
receiving conventional dosages of mercaptopurine because of an inherited
deficiency (homozygous mutant) of thiopurine S-methyltransferase, an enzyme that inactivates
mercaptopurine.[36][37] These patients are able to tolerate mercaptopurine only
if dosages much lower than those conventionally used are administered.[36][37]
Patients who are heterozygous for this mutant enzyme gene generally tolerate
mercaptopurine without serious toxicity, but they do require more frequent dose
reductions for hematopoietic toxicity than do patients who are homozygous for the
normal allele.[36]
Evidence (maintenance therapy):
SJCRH has modified the agents used in the rotating pair schedule during the maintenance phase. On the Total XV study, standard-risk and high-risk patients received three rotating pairs (mercaptopurine plus methotrexate, cyclophosphamide plus cytarabine, and dexamethasone plus vincristine) throughout this treatment phase; low-risk patients received more standard maintenance (without cyclophosphamide and cytarabine).[46]
Pulses of vincristine and corticosteroid are often added to the
standard maintenance backbone, although the benefit of these pulses within the context of intensive, multiagent regimens remains controversial.
Evidence (vincristine/corticosteroid pulses):
For regimens that include vincristine/steroid pulses, a number of studies have addressed which steroid (dexamethasone or prednisone) should be used. From these studies, it appears that dexamethasone is associated with superior EFS, but also may lead to a greater frequency of steroid-associated complications, including bone toxicity and infections, especially in older children and adolescents. Dexamethasone has not been associated with an increased frequency of these complications in younger patients.[13][52][53][54][55]
Evidence (dexamethasone vs. prednisone):
The benefit of using dexamethasone in
children aged 10 to 18 years requires further investigation because of the increased risk of steroid-induced osteonecrosis in this age
Maintenance chemotherapy generally continues until 2 to 3 years of continuous
CR. On some studies, boys are treated longer than girls;[13] on others, there is no difference in the duration of treatment based on gender.[11][17] It is not clear whether longer duration of maintenance therapy reduces relapse in boys, especially in the context of current therapies.[17][Level of evidence: 2Di] Extending the duration of maintenance therapy beyond 3 years
does not improve outcome.[48]
Nonadherence to treatment with 6-MP in maintenance is associated with a significant increase in the risk of relapse.[35]
Evidence (adherence to treatment):
Risk-based treatment assignment is a key therapeutic strategy utilized for
children with ALL, and protocols are designed for specific patient populations
that have varying degrees of risk of treatment failure. The Risk-based Treatment Assignment section of this summary describes the
clinical and laboratory features used for the initial stratification of
children with ALL into risk-based treatment groups.
Ongoing clinical trials include the following:
This trial subdivides standard-risk patients into two groups: low risk and average risk. Low risk is defined as the presence of all of the following: NCI-standard risk age/WBC, favorable genetics (e.g., double trisomies or ETV6-RUNX1), CNS1 at presentation, and low MRD (<0.01% by flow cytometry) at day 8 (peripheral blood) and day 29 (marrow). Average risk includes other NCI standard-risk patients excluding those with high day 29 MRD morphologic induction failure or other unfavorable presenting features (e.g., CNS3, iAMP21, low hypodiploidy, MLL translocations, and BCR-ABL).
All patients will receive a three-drug induction (dexamethasone, vincristine, and IV PEG-L-asparaginase) with intrathecal chemotherapy. For postinduction therapy, low-risk patients will be randomly assigned to receive one of the following:
The objective is not to prove superiority of either regimen, but rather, to determine whether excellent outcomes (at least 95% 5-year DFS) can be achieved.
All average-risk patients will receive a modified BFM-backbone as postinduction treatment. For these patients, the study is comparing, in a randomized fashion, two doses of weekly oral methotrexate during the maintenance phase (20 mg/m2 and 40 mg/m2) to determine whether the higher dose favorably impacts DFS. Average-risk patients are also eligible to participate in a randomized comparison of two schedules of vincristine/dexamethasone pulses during maintenance (delivered every 4 weeks or every 12 weeks). The objective of this randomization is to determine whether vincristine/dexamethasone pulses can be delivered less frequently without adversely impacting outcome.
This protocol is open to patients aged 30 years or younger. Patients treated on this trial are classified as either high risk or very high risk. The presence of any of the following is sufficient to classify a patient as very high risk:
The high-risk group includes patients with NCI high-risk ALL who lack very high-risk features, and two groups of NCI standard-risk patients who otherwise lack very high-risk features: (1) those without favorable genetics (no ETV6-RUNX1 or double trisomies 4 and 10), and with day 8 peripheral blood MRD >1%; and (2) those with favorable cytogenetics and with high marrow MRD at day 29. Patients with BCR-ABL (Philadelphia chromosome–positive) are treated on a separate clinical trial.
Patients on this trial will receive a four-drug induction (vincristine, corticosteroid, daunorubicin, and IV PEG-L-asparaginase) with intrathecal chemotherapy. Patients younger than 10 years receive dexamethasone during induction, and those aged 10 years and older receive prednisone. Postinduction therapy consists of a modified BFM backbone, including an interim maintenance phase with high-dose methotrexate and one delayed intensification phase. Very high-risk patients receive a second interim maintenance phase before beginning more standard maintenance. Only patients with CNS3 status at diagnosis receive cranial radiation. Those with M3 marrow at day 29 or low hypodiploidy are eligible for allogeneic HSCT in first remission.
For high-risk patients, the study will compare, in a randomized fashion, triple intrathecal chemotherapy (methotrexate, cytarabine, and hydrocortisone) with intrathecal methotrexate to determine whether triple intrathecal chemotherapy reduces CNS relapse rates and improves EFS.
For very high-risk patients, the study will test, in a randomized fashion, whether intensified consolidation phases (including either cyclophosphamide/etoposide or clofarabine/cyclophosphamide/etoposide) improves 4-year DFS compared with the standard consolidation phase.
This protocol is also examining the following:
Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia in remission. The list of clinical trials can be further narrowed by location, drug, intervention, and other criteria.
Veerman AJ, Hählen K, Kamps WA, et al.: High cure rate with a moderately intensive treatment regimen in non-high-risk childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Results of protocol ALL VI from the Dutch Childhood Leukemia Study Group. J Clin Oncol 14 (3): 911-8, 1996.
Chauvenet AR, Martin PL, Devidas M, et al.: Antimetabolite therapy for lesser-risk B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia of childhood: a report from Children's Oncology Group Study P9201. Blood 110 (4): 1105-11, 2007.
Gustafsson G, Kreuger A, Clausen N, et al.: Intensified treatment of acute childhood lymphoblastic leukaemia has improved prognosis, especially in non-high-risk patients: the Nordic experience of 2648 patients diagnosed between 1981 and 1996. Nordic Society of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology (NOPHO) Acta Paediatr 87 (11): 1151-61, 1998.
Mahoney DH Jr, Shuster JJ, Nitschke R, et al.: Intensification with intermediate-dose intravenous methotrexate is effective therapy for children with lower-risk B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia: A Pediatric Oncology Group study. J Clin Oncol 18 (6): 1285-94, 2000.
Pession A, Valsecchi MG, Masera G, et al.: Long-term results of a randomized trial on extended use of high dose L-asparaginase for standard risk childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. J Clin Oncol 23 (28): 7161-7, 2005.
Riehm H, Gadner H, Henze G, et al.: Results and significance of six randomized trials in four consecutive ALL-BFM studies. Hamatol Bluttransfus 33: 439-50, 1990.
Hutchinson RJ, Gaynon PS, Sather H, et al.: Intensification of therapy for children with lower-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia: long-term follow-up of patients treated on Children's Cancer Group Trial 1881. J Clin Oncol 21 (9): 1790-7, 2003.
Pui CH, Mahmoud HH, Rivera GK, et al.: Early intensification of intrathecal chemotherapy virtually eliminates central nervous system relapse in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Blood 92 (2): 411-5, 1998.
Nachman JB, Sather HN, Sensel MG, et al.: Augmented post-induction therapy for children with high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia and a slow response to initial therapy. N Engl J Med 338 (23): 1663-71, 1998.
Mattano LA Jr, Sather HN, Trigg ME, et al.: Osteonecrosis as a complication of treating acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children: a report from the Children's Cancer Group. J Clin Oncol 18 (18): 3262-72, 2000.
Aricò M, Valsecchi MG, Conter V, et al.: Improved outcome in high-risk childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia defined by prednisone-poor response treated with double Berlin-Frankfurt-Muenster protocol II. Blood 100 (2): 420-6, 2002.
Seibel NL, Steinherz PG, Sather HN, et al.: Early postinduction intensification therapy improves survival for children and adolescents with high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a report from the Children's Oncology Group. Blood 111 (5): 2548-55, 2008.
Mattano LA Jr, Devidas M, Nachman JB, et al.: Effect of alternate-week versus continuous dexamethasone scheduling on the risk of osteonecrosis in paediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: results from the CCG-1961 randomised cohort trial. Lancet Oncol 13 (9): 906-15, 2012.
Lipshultz SE, Scully RE, Lipsitz SR, et al.: Assessment of dexrazoxane as a cardioprotectant in doxorubicin-treated children with high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: long-term follow-up of a prospective, randomised, multicentre trial. Lancet Oncol 11 (10): 950-61, 2010.
Barry EV, Vrooman LM, Dahlberg SE, et al.: Absence of secondary malignant neoplasms in children with high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated with dexrazoxane. J Clin Oncol 26 (7): 1106-11, 2008.
Asselin B, Devidas M, Zhou T, et al.: Cardioprotection and safety of dexrazoxane (DRZ) in children treated for newly diagnosed T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) or advanced stage lymphoblastic leukemia (T-LL). [Abstract] J Clin Oncol 30 (Suppl 15): A-9504, 2012.
Schmiegelow K, Glomstein A, Kristinsson J, et al.: Impact of morning versus evening schedule for oral methotrexate and 6-mercaptopurine on relapse risk for children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Nordic Society for Pediatric Hematology and Oncology (NOPHO). J Pediatr Hematol Oncol 19 (2): 102-9, 1997 Mar-Apr.
Relling MV, Hancock ML, Rivera GK, et al.: Mercaptopurine therapy intolerance and heterozygosity at the thiopurine S-methyltransferase gene locus. J Natl Cancer Inst 91 (23): 2001-8, 1999.
Andersen JB, Szumlanski C, Weinshilboum RM, et al.: Pharmacokinetics, dose adjustments, and 6-mercaptopurine/methotrexate drug interactions in two patients with thiopurine methyltransferase deficiency. Acta Paediatr 87 (1): 108-11, 1998.
Escherich G, Richards S, Stork LC, et al.: Meta-analysis of randomised trials comparing thiopurines in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Leukemia 25 (6): 953-9, 2011.
Broxson EH, Dole M, Wong R, et al.: Portal hypertension develops in a subset of children with standard risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated with oral 6-thioguanine during maintenance therapy. Pediatr Blood Cancer 44 (3): 226-31, 2005.
De Bruyne R, Portmann B, Samyn M, et al.: Chronic liver disease related to 6-thioguanine in children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. J Hepatol 44 (2): 407-10, 2006.
Vora A, Mitchell CD, Lennard L, et al.: Toxicity and efficacy of 6-thioguanine versus 6-mercaptopurine in childhood lymphoblastic leukaemia: a randomised trial. Lancet 368 (9544): 1339-48, 2006.
Jacobs SS, Stork LC, Bostrom BC, et al.: Substitution of oral and intravenous thioguanine for mercaptopurine in a treatment regimen for children with standard risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a collaborative Children's Oncology Group/National Cancer Institute pilot trial (CCG-1942). Pediatr Blood Cancer 49 (3): 250-5, 2007.
Stork LC, Matloub Y, Broxson E, et al.: Oral 6-mercaptopurine versus oral 6-thioguanine and veno-occlusive disease in children with standard-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia: report of the Children's Oncology Group CCG-1952 clinical trial. Blood 115 (14): 2740-8, 2010.
Felice MS, Rossi JG, Gallego MS, et al.: No advantage of a rotational continuation phase in acute lymphoblastic leukemia in childhood treated with a BFM back-bone therapy. Pediatr Blood Cancer 57 (1): 47-55, 2011.
Hijiya N, Hudson MM, Lensing S, et al.: Cumulative incidence of secondary neoplasms as a first event after childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. JAMA 297 (11): 1207-15, 2007.
Bleyer WA, Sather HN, Nickerson HJ, et al.: Monthly pulses of vincristine and prednisone prevent bone marrow and testicular relapse in low-risk childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a report of the CCG-161 study by the Childrens Cancer Study Group. J Clin Oncol 9 (6): 1012-21, 1991.
Duration and intensity of maintenance chemotherapy in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: overview of 42 trials involving 12 000 randomised children. Childhood ALL Collaborative Group. Lancet 347 (9018): 1783-8, 1996.
Eden TO, Pieters R, Richards S, et al.: Systematic review of the addition of vincristine plus steroid pulses in maintenance treatment for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia - an individual patient data meta-analysis involving 5,659 children. Br J Haematol 149 (5): 722-33, 2010.
Conter V, Valsecchi MG, Silvestri D, et al.: Pulses of vincristine and dexamethasone in addition to intensive chemotherapy for children with intermediate-risk acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: a multicentre randomised trial. Lancet 369 (9556): 123-31, 2007.
Strauss AJ, Su JT, Dalton VM, et al.: Bony morbidity in children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. J Clin Oncol 19 (12): 3066-72, 2001.
Vrooman LM, Stevenson KE, Supko JG, et al.: Postinduction dexamethasone and individualized dosing of Escherichia Coli L-asparaginase each improve outcome of children and adolescents with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia: results from a randomized study--Dana-Farber Cancer Institute ALL Consortium Protocol 00-01. J Clin Oncol 31 (9): 1202-10, 2013.
Approximately 3% of patients have detectable central nervous system (CNS) involvement by
conventional criteria at diagnosis (cerebrospinal fluid [CSF] specimen with ≥5 white blood cell [WBC]/μL with lymphoblasts and/or the presence of cranial nerve palsies).
However, unless specific therapy is directed toward the CNS, the majority of children will eventually develop overt CNS
leukemia. Therefore, all children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) should receive systemic combination
chemotherapy together with some form of CNS prophylaxis.
Because the CNS is a sanctuary site (i.e., an anatomic space that is poorly penetrated by many of the systemically administered chemotherapy agents typically used to treat ALL), specific CNS-directed therapies must be instituted early in treatment to eliminate clinically evident CNS disease at diagnosis and to prevent CNS relapse in all patients. Historically, survival rates for children with ALL improved dramatically after CNS-directed therapies were added to treatment regimens.
Standard treatment options for CNS-directed therapy include the following:
All of these treatment modalities have a role in the treatment and prevention of CNS leukemia. The combination of intrathecal chemotherapy plus CNS-directed systemic chemotherapy is standard; cranial radiation is reserved for selective situations.[1]
The type of CNS-therapy that is used is based on a patient's risk of CNS-relapse, with higher-risk patients receiving more intensive treatments. Data suggest that the following groups of patients are at increased risk of CNS relapse:
CNS-directed treatment regimens for newly diagnosed childhood ALL are presented in Table 2:
Disease Status
Standard Treatment Options
Standard-risk ALL
Intrathecal chemotherapy
Methotrexate alone
Methotrexate with cytarabine and hydrocortisone
CNS-directed systemic chemotherapy
High-dose methotrexate with leucovorin rescue
Escalating-dose intravenous methotrexate (no leucovorin rescue)
High-risk ALL
Cranial radiation
ALL = acute lymphoblastic leukemia; CNS = central nervous system; CNS3 = cerebrospinal fluid
with five or more white blood cells/µL, cytospin positive for blasts, or cranial nerve palsies.
aThe drug itself is not CNS-penetrant, but leads to cerebrospinal fluid asparagine depletion.
A major goal of current ALL clinical trials is to provide effective CNS therapy while minimizing neurologic toxic effects and other late effects.
All therapeutic regimens for childhood ALL include intrathecal chemotherapy. Intrathecal chemotherapy is usually started at the beginning of induction, intensified during consolidation and, in many protocols, continued throughout the maintenance phase.
Intrathecal chemotherapy typically consists of one of the following:[5]
Unlike intrathecal cytarabine, intrathecal methotrexate has a significant systemic effect, which may contribute to prevention of marrow relapse.[6]
In addition to therapy delivered directly to the brain and spinal fluid, systemically administered agents are also an important component of effective CNS prophylaxis. The following systemically administered drugs provide some degree of CNS prophylaxis:
Evidence (CNS-directed systemic chemotherapy):
The proportion of patients receiving cranial radiation has decreased significantly over time. At present, most newly diagnosed children with ALL are treated without cranial radiation. Many groups administer cranial radiation only to those patients considered to be at highest risk of subsequent CNS relapse, such as those with documented CNS leukemia at diagnosis (as defined above) (>5 WBC/μL with blasts; CNS3) and/or T-cell phenotype with high presenting WBC count.[10] In patients who do receive cranial radiation, the dose has been significantly reduced.
Ongoing trials seek to determine whether radiation can be eliminated from the treatment of all children with ALL without compromising survival or leading to increased rate of toxicities from upfront and salvage therapies.[11][12] A meta-analysis of randomized trials of CNS-directed therapy has confirmed that radiation therapy can be replaced by intrathecal chemotherapy in most patients with ALL. Additional systemic therapy may be required depending on the agents and intensity used.[1][Level of evidence: 1iDi]
Intrathecal chemotherapy without cranial radiation, given in the context of appropriate systemic chemotherapy, results in CNS relapse rates of less than 5% for children with standard-risk ALL.[11][12][13][14][15][16]
The use of cranial radiation does not appear to be a necessary component of CNS-directed therapy for these patients.[17][18]
Evidence (triple intrathecal chemotherapy vs. intrathecal methotrexate):
Controversy exists as to which high-risk patients should be treated with cranial radiation. Depending on the protocol, up to 20% of children with ALL receive cranial radiation as part of their CNS-directed therapy, even if they present without CNS involvement at diagnosis. Patients receiving cranial radiation on many treatment regimens include the following:[10]
Both the proportion of patients receiving radiation and the dose of radiation administered have decreased over the last 2 decades.
Evidence (cranial radiation):
Therapy for ALL patients with clinically evident CNS disease (≥5 WBC/hpf with blasts on cytospin; CNS3) at diagnosis typically includes intrathecal chemotherapy and cranial radiation (usual dose is 18 Gy).[16][18] Spinal radiation is no longer used.
Larger studies will be necessary to fully elucidate the safety of omitting cranial radiation in CNS3 patients.
Treatment options under clinical evaluation include the following:
Toxic effects of CNS-directed therapy for childhood ALL can be divided into
the following two broad groups:
The most common acute side effect associated with intrathecal chemotherapy alone is seizures. Up to 5% of nonirradiated patients
with ALL treated with frequent doses of intrathecal chemotherapy will have at least one seizure during therapy.[11] Higher rates of seizure were observed with consolidation regimens that included multiple doses of high-dose methotrexate in addition to intrathecal chemotherapy.[28]
Patients with ALL
who develop seizures during the course of treatment and who receive anticonvulsant therapy should not receive phenobarbital or phenytoin as
anticonvulsant treatment, as these drugs may increase the clearance of some
chemotherapeutic drugs and adversely affect treatment outcome.[29] Gabapentin or valproic acid are alternative
anticonvulsants with less enzyme-inducing capabilities.[29]
In general,
patients who receive intrathecal chemotherapy without cranial radiation appear to have less severe neurocognitive sequelae than irradiated patients, and the
deficits that do develop represent relatively modest declines in a limited
number of domains of neuropsychological functioning.[30][31][32][33] This modest decline is primarily seen in young children and girls.[34]
A comparison of neurocognitive outcomes of patients treated with methotrexate versus triple intrathecal chemotherapy showed no clinically meaningful difference.[22][Level of evidence: 3iiiC]
Controversy exists about whether patients who receive dexamethasone have a higher risk of neurocognitive disturbances.[35]
Long-term neurocognitive testing in 92 children with a history of standard-risk ALL who had received either dexamethasone or prednisone during treatment did not demonstrate any meaningful differences in cognitive functioning based on corticosteroid randomization.[36]
Long-term deleterious effects of cranial radiation, particularly at doses higher than 18 Gy, have been recognized
for years. Children receiving these higher doses of cranial radiation are at
significant risk of neurocognitive and neuroendocrine sequelae.[37][38][39][40][41] At doses of 18 Gy, it does not appear that irradiated patients have more severe neurocognitive impairments than ALL survivors who were treated without radiation.[30] On current clinical trials, many patients who receive prophylactic or presymptomatic cranial radiation are treated with an even lower dose. Longer follow-up is needed to determine whether 12 Gy will be associated with a lower incidence of late effects.
The following groups have been associated with neurocognitive and neuroendocrine sequelae after cranial radiation:
Evidence (toxicity of cranial radiation):
Cranial radiation has also been associated with an increased risk of second neoplasms, many of which are benign or of low malignant potential, such as meningiomas, although high-grade lesions may occur.[27][48][49] Leukoencephalopathy has been observed after cranial radiation in children with ALL but appears to be more common with higher doses than are currently administered.[50] In general, systemic methotrexate doses greater than 1 g/m2 should not be given after cranial radiation because of the increased risk of neurologic sequelae, including leukoencephalopathy.
Richards S, Pui CH, Gayon P, et al.: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials of central nervous system directed therapy for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Pediatr Blood Cancer 60 (2): 185-95, 2013.
Pullen J, Boyett J, Shuster J, et al.: Extended triple intrathecal chemotherapy trial for prevention of CNS relapse in good-risk and poor-risk patients with B-progenitor acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a Pediatric Oncology Group study. J Clin Oncol 11 (5): 839-49, 1993.
Thyss A, Suciu S, Bertrand Y, et al.: Systemic effect of intrathecal methotrexate during the initial phase of treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Children's Leukemia Cooperative Group. J Clin Oncol 15 (5): 1824-30, 1997.
Asselin BL, Devidas M, Wang C, et al.: Effectiveness of high-dose methotrexate in T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia and advanced-stage lymphoblastic lymphoma: a randomized study by the Children's Oncology Group (POG 9404). Blood 118 (4): 874-83, 2011.
Pui CH, Howard SC: Current management and challenges of malignant disease in the CNS in paediatric leukaemia. Lancet Oncol 9 (3): 257-68, 2008.
Tubergen DG, Gilchrist GS, O'Brien RT, et al.: Prevention of CNS disease in intermediate-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia: comparison of cranial radiation and intrathecal methotrexate and the importance of systemic therapy: a Childrens Cancer Group report. J Clin Oncol 11 (3): 520-6, 1993.
Conter V, Aricò M, Valsecchi MG, et al.: Extended intrathecal methotrexate may replace cranial irradiation for prevention of CNS relapse in children with intermediate-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated with Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster-based intensive chemotherapy. The Associazione Italiana di Ematologia ed Oncologia Pediatrica. J Clin Oncol 13 (10): 2497-502, 1995.
Clarke M, Gaynon P, Hann I, et al.: CNS-directed therapy for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia: Childhood ALL Collaborative Group overview of 43 randomized trials. J Clin Oncol 21 (9): 1798-809, 2003.
Matloub Y, Lindemulder S, Gaynon PS, et al.: Intrathecal triple therapy decreases central nervous system relapse but fails to improve event-free survival when compared with intrathecal methotrexate: results of the Children's Cancer Group (CCG) 1952 study for standard-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia, reported by the Children's Oncology Group. Blood 108 (4): 1165-73, 2006.
Kadan-Lottick NS, Brouwers P, Breiger D, et al.: Comparison of neurocognitive functioning in children previously randomly assigned to intrathecal methotrexate compared with triple intrathecal therapy for the treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. J Clin Oncol 27 (35): 5986-92, 2009.
Moore IM, Espy KA, Kaufmann P, et al.: Cognitive consequences and central nervous system injury following treatment for childhood leukemia. Semin Oncol Nurs 16 (4): 279-90; discussion 291-9, 2000.
Goshen Y, Stark B, Kornreich L, et al.: High incidence of meningioma in cranial irradiated survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Pediatr Blood Cancer 49 (3): 294-7, 2007.
Mahoney DH Jr, Shuster JJ, Nitschke R, et al.: Acute neurotoxicity in children with B-precursor acute lymphoid leukemia: an association with intermediate-dose intravenous methotrexate and intrathecal triple therapy--a Pediatric Oncology Group study. J Clin Oncol 16 (5): 1712-22, 1998.
Relling MV, Pui CH, Sandlund JT, et al.: Adverse effect of anticonvulsants on efficacy of chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Lancet 356 (9226): 285-90, 2000.
Waber DP, Turek J, Catania L, et al.: Neuropsychological outcomes from a randomized trial of triple intrathecal chemotherapy compared with 18 Gy cranial radiation as CNS treatment in acute lymphoblastic leukemia: findings from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute ALL Consortium Protocol 95-01. J Clin Oncol 25 (31): 4914-21, 2007.
Jansen NC, Kingma A, Schuitema A, et al.: Neuropsychological outcome in chemotherapy-only-treated children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. J Clin Oncol 26 (18): 3025-30, 2008.
Espy KA, Moore IM, Kaufmann PM, et al.: Chemotherapeutic CNS prophylaxis and neuropsychologic change in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a prospective study. J Pediatr Psychol 26 (1): 1-9, 2001 Jan-Feb.
Copeland DR, Moore BD 3rd, Francis DJ, et al.: Neuropsychologic effects of chemotherapy on children with cancer: a longitudinal study. J Clin Oncol 14 (10): 2826-35, 1996.
von der Weid N, Mosimann I, Hirt A, et al.: Intellectual outcome in children and adolescents with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia treated with chemotherapy alone: age- and sex-related differences. Eur J Cancer 39 (3): 359-65, 2003.
Waber DP, Carpentieri SC, Klar N, et al.: Cognitive sequelae in children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia with dexamethasone or prednisone. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol 22 (3): 206-13, 2000 May-Jun.
Kadan-Lottick NS, Brouwers P, Breiger D, et al.: A comparison of neurocognitive functioning in children previously randomized to dexamethasone or prednisone in the treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Blood 114 (9): 1746-52, 2009.
Stubberfield TG, Byrne GC, Jones TW: Growth and growth hormone secretion after treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia in childhood. 18-Gy versus 24-Gy cranial irradiation. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol 17 (2): 167-71, 1995.
Rowland JH, Glidewell OJ, Sibley RF, et al.: Effects of different forms of central nervous system prophylaxis on neuropsychologic function in childhood leukemia. J Clin Oncol 2 (12): 1327-35, 1984.
Halberg FE, Kramer JH, Moore IM, et al.: Prophylactic cranial irradiation dose effects on late cognitive function in children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 22 (1): 13-6, 1992.
Hill JM, Kornblith AB, Jones D, et al.: A comparative study of the long term psychosocial functioning of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia survivors treated by intrathecal methotrexate with or without cranial radiation. Cancer 82 (1): 208-18, 1998.
Pui CH, Cheng C, Leung W, et al.: Extended follow-up of long-term survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. N Engl J Med 349 (7): 640-9, 2003.
Jankovic M, Brouwers P, Valsecchi MG, et al.: Association of 1800 cGy cranial irradiation with intellectual function in children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. ISPACC. International Study Group on Psychosocial Aspects of Childhood Cancer. Lancet 344 (8917): 224-7, 1994.
Sklar C, Mertens A, Walter A, et al.: Final height after treatment for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia: comparison of no cranial irradiation with 1800 and 2400 centigrays of cranial irradiation. J Pediatr 123 (1): 59-64, 1993.
Christie D, Leiper AD, Chessells JM, et al.: Intellectual performance after presymptomatic cranial radiotherapy for leukaemia: effects of age and sex. Arch Dis Child 73 (2): 136-40, 1995.
Waber DP, Tarbell NJ, Kahn CM, et al.: The relationship of sex and treatment modality to neuropsychologic outcome in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. J Clin Oncol 10 (5): 810-7, 1992.
Waber DP, Shapiro BL, Carpentieri SC, et al.: Excellent therapeutic efficacy and minimal late neurotoxicity in children treated with 18 grays of cranial radiation therapy for high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a 7-year follow-up study of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Consortium Protocol 87-01. Cancer 92 (1): 15-22, 2001.
Waber DP, Silverman LB, Catania L, et al.: Outcomes of a randomized trial of hyperfractionated cranial radiation therapy for treatment of high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia: therapeutic efficacy and neurotoxicity. J Clin Oncol 22 (13): 2701-7, 2004.
Löning L, Zimmermann M, Reiter A, et al.: Secondary neoplasms subsequent to Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster therapy of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in childhood: significantly lower risk without cranial radiotherapy. Blood 95 (9): 2770-5, 2000.
Bhatia S, Sather HN, Pabustan OB, et al.: Low incidence of second neoplasms among children diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia after 1983. Blood 99 (12): 4257-64, 2002.
Filley CM, Kleinschmidt-DeMasters BK: Toxic leukoencephalopathy. N Engl J Med 345 (6): 425-32, 2001.
Historically, patients with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have had a worse prognosis than children with precursor B-cell ALL. With current treatment regimens, outcomes for children with T-cell ALL are now approaching those achieved for children with precursor B-cell ALL. For example, the 10-year overall survival (OS) for children with T-cell ALL treated on the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) DFCI-95001 (NCT00004034) trial was 90.1% compared with 88.7% for patients with B-cell disease.[1] However, in a review of a large number of patients treated on COG trials over a 15-year period, T-cell immunophenotype still proved to be a negative prognostic factor on multivariate analysis.[2]
Treatment options under clinical evaluation for T-cell ALL include the following:
COG-AALL0434 is a phase III trial utilizing a modified augmented BFM regimen for patients aged 1 to 30 years with T-cell ALL. Patients are classified into one of three risk groups (low, intermediate, or high) based on NCI age/leukocyte criteria, CNS status at diagnosis, morphologic marrow response on days 15 and 29, and minimal residual disease (MRD) level at day 29. The objectives of the trial include the following:
Patients with T-cell ALL are eligible to enroll on a DFCI ALL Consortium protocol that is comparing the pharmacokinetics and toxicity of two forms of intravenous PEG-L-asparaginase (pegaspargase [Oncaspar] and calaspargase pegol [SC-PEG]). Patients will be randomly assigned to receive a single dose of one of these preparations during multiagent induction, and then either pegaspargase every 2 weeks (15 doses total) or calaspargase pegol every 3 weeks (10 doses total) during the 30-week consolidation phase.
This protocol is also testing whether antibiotic prophylaxis (with fluoroquinolones) reduces rates of bacteremia and other serious bacterial infections during the remission induction phase. All T-cell patients are treated on the high-risk arm of this trial, regardless of other presenting characteristics.
Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with T-cell childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The list of clinical trials can be further narrowed by location, drug, intervention, and other criteria.
Infant ALL is uncommon, representing approximately 2% to 4% of cases of childhood ALL.[11] Because of their distinctive biological characteristics and their high risk of
leukemia recurrence, infants with ALL are treated on protocols specifically
designed for this patient population. Common therapeutic themes of the intensive chemotherapy regimens used to treat infants with ALL are the inclusion of postinduction intensification courses with high doses of cytarabine and methotrexate.[12][13][14] Despite intensification of therapy, long-term EFS rates remain below 50%. Infants with congenital leukemia (diagnosed within 1 month of birth) have a particularly poor outcome (17% OS).[15][Level of evidence: 2A]
For infants with MLL gene rearrangement, the EFS rates continue to be in the 17% to 40% range.[12][13][15][16][17][Level of evidence: 2A] Factors predicting poor outcome for infants with MLL translocations include the following:[13]; [18][Level of evidence: 3iDii]
Infants with MLL gene translocations are generally treated on intensified chemotherapy regimens using agents not typically incorporated into frontline therapy for older children with ALL. However, despite these intensified approaches, EFS rates remain poor for these patients.
Evidence (intensified chemotherapy regimens for infants with MLL translocations):
The role of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) during first remission in infants with MLL gene translocations remains controversial.
Evidence (allogeneic HSCT in first remission for infants with MLL translocations):
The optimal treatment for infants without MLL translocations also remains unclear.
Adolescents and young adults with ALL have been recognized as high risk for decades. Outcomes in almost all studies of treatment are inferior in this age group compared with children younger than 10 years.[23][24][25] The reasons for this difference include more frequent presentation of adverse prognostic factors at diagnosis, including the following:
In addition to more frequent adverse prognostic factors, patients in this age group have higher rates of treatment-related mortality [24][25][26][27] and non-adherence to therapy.[26][28]
Studies from the United States and France were among the first to identify the difference in outcome based on treatment regimens.[29] Other studies have confirmed that older adolescent and young adult patients fare better on pediatric rather than adult regimens.[29][30][31][32][33]; [34][Level of evidence: 2A] These study results are summarized in Table 3.
Given the relatively favorable outcome that can be obtained in these patients with chemotherapy regimens used for high-risk pediatric ALL, there is no role for the routine use of allogeneic HSCT for adolescents and young adults with ALL in first remission.[25]
Evidence (pediatric treatment regimen):
Other studies have confirmed that older adolescent patients and young adults fare better on pediatric rather than adult regimens (see Table 3).[30][32]; [34][Level of evidence: 2A]
The reason that adolescents and young adults achieve superior outcomes with pediatric regimens is not known, although possible explanations include the following: [30]
Site and Study Group
Adolescent and Young Adult Patients (No.)
Median age (y)
Survival (%)
United States[29]
CCG (Pediatric)
67, OS 7 y
CALGB (Adult)
FRALLE 93 (Pediatric)
AEIOP (Pediatric)
80, OS 2 y
GIMEMA (Adult)
DCOG (Pediatric)
NOPHO 92 (Pediatric)
74, OS 5 y
Adult ALL
United Kingdom[32]
MRC ALL (Pediatric)
71, OS 5 y
UKALL XII (Adult)
ALL = acute lymphoblastic leukemia; EFS = event-free survival; OS = overall survival.
AEIOP = Associazione Italiana Ematologia Oncologia Pediatrica; CALGB = Cancer and Leukemia Group B; CCG = Children's Cancer Group; DCOG = Dutch Childhood Oncology Group; FRALLE = French Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia; GIMEMA = Gruppo Italiano Malattie e Matologiche dell'Adulto; HOVON = Dutch-Belgian Hemato-Oncology Cooperative Group; LALA = France-Belgium
Group for Lymphoblastic Acute Leukemia in Adults; MRC = Medical Research Council (United Kingdom); NOPHO = Nordic Society for Pediatric Hematology and Oncology; UKALL = United Kingdom Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia.
Adolescents with ALL appear to be at higher risk than younger children for developing therapy-related complications, including osteonecrosis, deep venous thromboses, and pancreatitis.[31][39] Before the use of postinduction intensification for treatment of ALL, osteonecrosis was infrequent. The improvement in outcome for children and adolescents aged 10 years and older was accompanied by an increased incidence of osteonecrosis.
The weight-bearing joints are affected in 95% of patients who develop osteonecrosis and operative interventions are needed for management of symptoms and impaired mobility in more than 40% of cases. The majority of the cases are diagnosed within the first 2 years of therapy and often the symptoms are recognized during maintenance.
Evidence (osteonecrosis):
These patients are eligible for a three-arm study designed to assess the efficacy of either clofarabine/etoposide/cyclophosphamide versus cyclophosphamide/etoposide versus the standard cyclophosphamide/thioguanine/cytarabine combination during the consolidation and late intensification phases.
Philadelphia chromosome–positive (Ph+) ALL is seen in about 3% of pediatric ALL cases, increases in adolescence, and is seen in 15% to 25% of adults. In the past, this subtype of ALL has been recognized as extremely difficult to treat with poor outcome. In 2000, an international pediatric leukemia group reported a 7-year EFS of 25%, with an OS of 36%.[40] In 2010, the same group reported a 7-year EFS of 31% and an overall survival of 44% in Ph+ ALL patients treated without tyrosine kinase inhibitors.[41] Treatment of this subgroup has evolved from emphasis on aggressive chemotherapy, to bone marrow transplantation, and currently to combination therapy using chemotherapy plus tyrosine kinase inhibitor.
Before the use of imatinib mesylate, HSCT from a matched sibling donor was the treatment of choice for patients with Ph+ ALL.[42][43][44] Data to support this include a retrospective multigroup analysis of children and young adults with Ph+ ALL, in which HSCT from a matched sibling donor was associated with a better outcome than standard (pre-imatinib mesylate) chemotherapy.[40] In this retrospective analysis, Ph+ ALL patients undergoing HSCT from an unrelated donor had a very poor outcome. However, in a follow-up study by the same group evaluating outcomes in the subsequent decade (pre-imatinib mesylate era), transplantation with matched-related or matched-unrelated donors were equivalent. DFS at the 5-year time point showed an advantage for transplantation in first remission compared with chemotherapy that was borderline significant (P = .049), and OS was also higher for transplantation compared with chemotherapy, although the advantage at 5 years was not significant.[41]
Factors significantly associated with favorable prognosis in the pre-tyrosine kinase inhibitor era included the following:
Following MRD by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction for the BCR-ABL fusion transcript may also be useful to help predict outcome for Ph+ patients.[47][48][49]
Imatinib mesylate is a selective inhibitor of the BCR-ABL protein kinase. Phase I and II studies of single-agent imatinib in children and adults with relapsed or refractory Ph+ ALL have demonstrated relatively high response rates, although these responses tended to be of short duration.[50][51]
Clinical trials in adults and children with Ph+ ALL have demonstrated the feasibility of administering imatinib mesylate in combination with multiagent chemotherapy.[52][53][54] Preliminary outcome of results for Ph+ ALL demonstrated a better outcome after HSCT if imatinib was given before or after transplant.[55][56][57][58]
Evidence (imatinib mesylate):
Dasatinib, a second-generation inhibitor of tyrosine kinases, is currently being studied in the initial treatment of Ph+ ALL. Dasatinib has shown significant activity in the CNS, both in a mouse model and a series of patients with CNS-positive leukemia.[61] The results of a phase I trial of dasatinib in pediatric patients indicated that once-daily dosing was associated with an acceptable toxicity profile, with few nonhematologic grade 3 or 4 adverse events.[62]
Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with Philadelphia chromosome positive childhood precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The list of clinical trials can be further narrowed by location, drug, intervention, and other criteria.
LeClerc JM, Billett AL, Gelber RD, et al.: Treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia: results of Dana-Farber ALL Consortium Protocol 87-01. J Clin Oncol 20 (1): 237-46, 2002.
Seibel NL, Asselin BL, Nachman JB, et al.: Treatment of high risk T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL): comparison of recent experience of the Children's Cancer Group (CCG) and Pediatric Oncology Group (POG). [Abstract] Blood 104 (11): A-681, 2004.
Matloub Y, Asselin BL, Stork LC, et al.: Outcome of children with T-Cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) and standard risk (SR) features: results of CCG-1952, CCG-1991 and POG 9404. [Abstract] Blood 104 (11): A-680, 195a, 2004.
Berg SL, Blaney SM, Devidas M, et al.: Phase II study of nelarabine (compound 506U78) in children and young adults with refractory T-cell malignancies: a report from the Children's Oncology Group. J Clin Oncol 23 (15): 3376-82, 2005.
Kurtzberg J, Ernst TJ, Keating MJ, et al.: Phase I study of 506U78 administered on a consecutive 5-day schedule in children and adults with refractory hematologic malignancies. J Clin Oncol 23 (15): 3396-403, 2005.
Dunsmore KP, Devidas M, Linda SB, et al.: Pilot study of nelarabine in combination with intensive chemotherapy in high-risk T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a report from the Children's Oncology Group. J Clin Oncol 30 (22): 2753-9, 2012.
Silverman LB: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia in infancy. Pediatr Blood Cancer 49 (7 Suppl): 1070-3, 2007.
Silverman LB, McLean TW, Gelber RD, et al.: Intensified therapy for infants with acute lymphoblastic leukemia: results from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Consortium. Cancer 80 (12): 2285-95, 1997.
van der Linden MH, Valsecchi MG, De Lorenzo P, et al.: Outcome of congenital acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated on the Interfant-99 protocol. Blood 114 (18): 3764-8, 2009.
Tomizawa D, Koh K, Sato T, et al.: Outcome of risk-based therapy for infant acute lymphoblastic leukemia with or without an MLL gene rearrangement, with emphasis on late effects: a final report of two consecutive studies, MLL96 and MLL98, of the Japan Infant Leukemia Study Group. Leukemia 21 (11): 2258-63, 2007.
Biondi A, Rizzari C, Valsecchi MG, et al.: Role of treatment intensification in infants with acute lymphoblastic leukemia: results of two consecutive AIEOP studies. Haematologica 91 (4): 534-7, 2006.
Van der Velden VH, Corral L, Valsecchi MG, et al.: Prognostic significance of minimal residual disease in infants with acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated within the Interfant-99 protocol. Leukemia 23 (6): 1073-9, 2009.
Dreyer ZE, Dinndorf PA, Camitta B, et al.: Analysis of the role of hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation in infants with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in first remission and MLL gene rearrangements: a report from the Children's Oncology Group. J Clin Oncol 29 (2): 214-22, 2011.
Mann G, Attarbaschi A, Schrappe M, et al.: Improved outcome with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in a poor prognostic subgroup of infants with mixed-lineage-leukemia (MLL)-rearranged acute lymphoblastic leukemia: results from the Interfant-99 Study. Blood 116 (15): 2644-50, 2010.
Brown P, Levis M, McIntyre E, et al.: Combinations of the FLT3 inhibitor CEP-701 and chemotherapy synergistically kill infant and childhood MLL-rearranged ALL cells in a sequence-dependent manner. Leukemia 20 (8): 1368-76, 2006.
Nachman J: Clinical characteristics, biologic features and outcome for young adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Br J Haematol 130 (2): 166-73, 2005.
Pichler H, Reismüller B, Steiner M, et al.: The inferior prognosis of adolescents with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is caused by a higher rate of treatment-related mortality and not an increased relapse rate--a population-based analysis of 25 years of the Austrian ALL-BFM (Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster) Study Group. Br J Haematol 161 (4): 556-65, 2013.
Burke MJ, Gossai N, Wagner JE, et al.: Survival differences between adolescents/young adults and children with B precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 19 (1): 138-42, 2013.
Ramanujachar R, Richards S, Hann I, et al.: Adolescents with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: emerging from the shadow of paediatric and adult treatment protocols. Pediatr Blood Cancer 47 (6): 748-56, 2006.
Barry E, DeAngelo DJ, Neuberg D, et al.: Favorable outcome for adolescents with acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated on Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Consortium Protocols. J Clin Oncol 25 (7): 813-9, 2007.
Ramanujachar R, Richards S, Hann I, et al.: Adolescents with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: outcome on UK national paediatric (ALL97) and adult (UKALLXII/E2993) trials. Pediatr Blood Cancer 48 (3): 254-61, 2007.
Ram R, Wolach O, Vidal L, et al.: Adolescents and young adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia have a better outcome when treated with pediatric-inspired regimens: systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Hematol 87 (5): 472-8, 2012.
Ribera JM, Oriol A, Sanz MA, et al.: Comparison of the results of the treatment of adolescents and young adults with standard-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia with the Programa Español de Tratamiento en Hematología pediatric-based protocol ALL-96. J Clin Oncol 26 (11): 1843-9, 2008.
Testi AM, Valsecchi MG, Conter V, et al.: Difference in outcome of adolescents with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) enrolled in pediatric (AIEOP) and adult (GIMEMA) protocols. [Abstract] Blood 104: A-1954, 2004.
de Bont JM, van der Holt B, Dekker AW, et al.: [Adolescents with acute lymphatic leukaemia achieve significantly better results when treated following Dutch paediatric oncology protocols than with adult protocols]. Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd 149 (8): 400-6, 2005.
Hallböök H, Gustafsson G, Smedmyr B, et al.: Treatment outcome in young adults and children >10 years of age with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in Sweden: a comparison between a pediatric protocol and an adult protocol. Cancer 107 (7): 1551-61, 2006.
Aricò M, Valsecchi MG, Camitta B, et al.: Outcome of treatment in children with Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia. N Engl J Med 342 (14): 998-1006, 2000.
Mori T, Manabe A, Tsuchida M, et al.: Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation in first remission rescues children with Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia: Tokyo Children's Cancer Study Group (TCCSG) studies L89-12 and L92-13. Med Pediatr Oncol 37 (5): 426-31, 2001.
Dombret H, Gabert J, Boiron JM, et al.: Outcome of treatment in adults with Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia--results of the prospective multicenter LALA-94 trial. Blood 100 (7): 2357-66, 2002.
Hahn T, Wall D, Camitta B, et al.: The role of cytotoxic therapy with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in the therapy of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children: an evidence-based review. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 11 (11): 823-61, 2005.
Roy A, Bradburn M, Moorman AV, et al.: Early response to induction is predictive of survival in childhood Philadelphia chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: results of the Medical Research Council ALL 97 trial. Br J Haematol 129 (1): 35-44, 2005.
Cazzaniga G, Lanciotti M, Rossi V, et al.: Prospective molecular monitoring of BCR/ABL transcript in children with Ph+ acute lymphoblastic leukaemia unravels differences in treatment response. Br J Haematol 119 (2): 445-53, 2002.
Jones LK, Saha V: Philadelphia positive acute lymphoblastic leukaemia of childhood. Br J Haematol 130 (4): 489-500, 2005.
Lee S, Kim YJ, Chung NG, et al.: The extent of minimal residual disease reduction after the first 4-week imatinib therapy determines outcome of allogeneic stem cell transplantation in adults with Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Cancer 115 (3): 561-70, 2009.
Champagne MA, Capdeville R, Krailo M, et al.: Imatinib mesylate (STI571) for treatment of children with Philadelphia chromosome-positive leukemia: results from a Children's Oncology Group phase 1 study. Blood 104 (9): 2655-60, 2004.
Ottmann OG, Druker BJ, Sawyers CL, et al.: A phase 2 study of imatinib in patients with relapsed or refractory Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoid leukemias. Blood 100 (6): 1965-71, 2002.
Thomas DA, Faderl S, Cortes J, et al.: Treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphocytic leukemia with hyper-CVAD and imatinib mesylate. Blood 103 (12): 4396-407, 2004.
Yanada M, Takeuchi J, Sugiura I, et al.: High complete remission rate and promising outcome by combination of imatinib and chemotherapy for newly diagnosed BCR-ABL-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a phase II study by the Japan Adult Leukemia Study Group. J Clin Oncol 24 (3): 460-6, 2006.
Burke MJ, Trotz B, Luo X, et al.: Allo-hematopoietic cell transplantation for Ph chromosome-positive ALL: impact of imatinib on relapse and survival. Bone Marrow Transplant 43 (2): 107-13, 2009.
Lee S, Kim YJ, Min CK, et al.: The effect of first-line imatinib interim therapy on the outcome of allogeneic stem cell transplantation in adults with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Blood 105 (9): 3449-57, 2005.
de Labarthe A, Rousselot P, Huguet-Rigal F, et al.: Imatinib combined with induction or consolidation chemotherapy in patients with de novo Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia: results of the GRAAPH-2003 study. Blood 109 (4): 1408-13, 2007.
Rives S, Estella J, Gómez P, et al.: Intermediate dose of imatinib in combination with chemotherapy followed by allogeneic stem cell transplantation improves early outcome in paediatric Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL): results of the Spanish Cooperative Group SHOP studies ALL-94, ALL-99 and ALL-2005. Br J Haematol 154 (5): 600-11, 2011.
Rives S, Camós M, Estella J, et al.: Longer follow-up confirms major improvement in outcome in children and adolescents with Philadelphia chromosome acute lymphoblastic leukaemia treated with continuous imatinib and haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Results from the Spanish Cooperative Study SHOP/ALL-2005. Br J Haematol 162 (3): 419-21, 2013.
Porkka K, Koskenvesa P, Lundán T, et al.: Dasatinib crosses the blood-brain barrier and is an efficient therapy for central nervous system Philadelphia chromosome-positive leukemia. Blood 112 (4): 1005-12, 2008.
Zwaan CM, Rizzari C, Mechinaud F, et al.: Dasatinib in children and adolescents with relapsed or refractory leukemia: results of the CA180-018 phase I dose-escalation study of the Innovative Therapies for Children with Cancer Consortium. J Clin Oncol 31 (19): 2460-8, 2013.
The prognosis for a child with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) whose disease
recurs depends on multiple factors.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]; [15][Level of evidence: 3iiDi]
The two most important prognostic risk factors after first relapse of childhood ALL are the following:
Other prognostic factors include the following:
Patients who have isolated extramedullary relapse fare better than those who have relapse involving the marrow. In some studies, patients with combined marrow/extramedullary relapse have a better prognosis than those with a marrow relapse.[5][13]
For patients with relapsed B-precursor ALL, early relapses fare worse than later relapses, and marrow relapses fare worse than isolated extramedullary relapses. For example, survival rates range from less than 20% for patients with marrow relapses occurring within 18 months from diagnosis to 40% to 50% for those whose relapses occur more than 36 months from diagnosis.[5][13]
For patients with isolated central nervous system (CNS) relapses, the overall survival (OS) rates for early relapse (<18 months from diagnosis) are 40% to 50% and 75% to 80% for those with late relapses (>18 months from diagnosis).[13][16] No evidence exists that early detection of relapse by frequent surveillance (complete blood counts or bone marrow tests) in off-therapy patients improves outcome.[17]
Age 10 years and older at diagnosis has been reported as an independent predictor of poor outcome.[13] A Children's Oncology Group (COG) study further showed that although patients aged 10 to 15 years at initial diagnosis do worse than patients aged 1 to 9 years (35% vs. 48%, 3-year postrelapse survival), those older than age 15 years did much worse (3-year OS, 15%; P = .001).[18]
The Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster (BFM) group has also reported that high peripheral blast counts (>10,000/μL) at the time of relapse were associated with inferior outcomes in patients with late marrow relapses.[10]
Children with Down syndrome with relapse of ALL had inferior outcomes as reported in a BFM report before 2000, primarily due to increased induction deaths and treatment-related mortality. However, since 2000, with improvements in supportive care, there have been no differences in outcome between patients with and without Down syndrome.[19]
The COG reported that risk group classification at the time of initial diagnosis was prognostically significant after relapse; patients who met National Cancer Institute (NCI) standard-risk criteria at initial diagnosis fared better after relapse than did NCI high-risk patients.[13]
Patients with marrow relapses who have persistent morphologic disease at the end of the first month of reinduction therapy have an extremely poor prognosis, even if they subsequently achieve a second complete remission (CR2).[20][Level of evidence: 2Di]; [21][Level of evidence: 3iiiA] Several studies have demonstrated that minimal residual disease (MRD) levels after the achievement of CR2 are of prognostic significance in relapsed ALL.[20][22][23][24]; [25][Level of evidence: 3iiiDi] High levels of MRD at the end of reinduction and at later time points have been correlated with an extremely high risk of subsequent relapse.
TP53 alterations (mutations and/or copy number alterations) are observed in approximately 11% of patients with ALL at first relapse and have been associated with an increased likelihood of persistent leukemia after initial reinduction (38.5% TP53 alteration vs. 12.5% TP53 wild-type) and poor event-free survival (EFS) (9% TP53 alteration vs. 49% TP53 wild-type). Approximately one-half of the TP53 alterations were present at initial diagnosis and half were newly observed at time of relapse.[26] A second genomic alteration found to predict for poor prognosis in patients with B-precursor ALL in first bone marrow relapse is IKZF1 deletion.[27] The frequency of IKZF1 deletion in B-precursor ALL patients at first relapse patients was 33% in patients in the Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Relapse (ALL-REZ) BFM 2002 study, which was approximately twice as high as the frequency described in children at initial diagnosis of ALL.[27]
Patients with ETV6-RUNX1-positive ALL appear to have a relatively favorable prognosis at first relapse, consistent with the high percentage of such patients who relapse more than 36 months after diagnosis.[27][28] In the ALL-REZ BFM 2002 study, an EFS of 84% (± 7%, SE) was observed for patients with ETV6-RUNX1 ALL with bone marrow relapse.[27] In this study, 94% of patients with ETV6-RUNX1 had a duration of first remission that extended at least 6 months beyond completion of their primary treatment, and on multivariate analysis, time to relapse (and not the presence of ETV6-RUNX1) was an independent predictor of outcome. Similarly, the 5-year OS for ETV6-RUNX1 patients enrolled on the French Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (FRALLE) 93 study who relapsed at any site more than 36 months after diagnosis was 81%, and the presence of ETV6-RUNX1 was associated with a favorable survival outcome compared with other late relapsing patients.[28] However, the 3-year OS of ETV6-RUNX1 patients who experienced an early relapse (<36 months) was only 31%.
Immunophenotype is an important prognostic factor at relapse. Patients with T-cell ALL who experience a marrow relapse (isolated or combined) at any time during treatment or posttreatment are less likely to achieve a second remission and long-term EFS than are patients with B-cell ALL.[5][20]
Standard treatment options for first bone marrow relapse include the following:
Initial treatment of relapse consists of reinduction therapy to achieve a CR2. Using either a four-drug reinduction regimen (similar to that administered to newly diagnosed high-risk patients) or an alternative regimen including high-dose methotrexate and high-dose cytarabine, approximately 85% of patients with a marrow relapse achieve a CR2 at the end of the first month of treatment.[5]; [29][Level of evidence: 2A]; [20][Level of evidence: 2Di] Patients with early marrow relapses have a lower rate of achieving a morphologic CR2 (approximately 70%) than do those with late marrow relapses (approximately 95%).[20][29]
Evidence (chemotherapy):
The potential benefit of mitoxantrone in relapsed ALL regimens requires further investigation.
Patients with relapsed T-cell ALL have much lower rates of achieving CR2 with standard reinduction regimens than do patients with B-precursor phenotype.[20] Treatment of children with first relapse of T-cell ALL in the bone marrow with single-agent therapy using the T-cell selective agent, nelarabine, has resulted in response rates of approximately 50%.[37] The combination of nelarabine, cyclophosphamide, and etoposide has produced remissions in patients with relapsed/refractory T-cell ALL.[38]
For B-precursor patients with an early marrow relapse, allogeneic
transplant from a human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-identical sibling or matched unrelated donor that is
performed in second remission has been reported in most studies to result in higher leukemia-free survival
than a chemotherapy approach.[7][25][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47] However, even with transplantation, the survival rate for patients with early marrow relapse is less than 50%. (Refer to the Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for First and Subsequent Bone Marrow Relapse section of this summary for more information.)
For patients with a late marrow relapse of B-precursor ALL, a primary chemotherapy approach after achievement of CR2 has resulted in survival rates of approximately 50%, and it is not clear whether allogeneic transplantation is associated with superior cure rate.[5][9][30][48][49][50]; [51][Level of evidence: 3iiA] End-reinduction MRD levels may help to identify patients with a high risk of subsequent relapse if treated with chemotherapy alone (no HSCT) in CR2. Whether transplantation benefits patients with late marrow relapse but a high level of MRD after reinduction requires further study.
Evidence (MRD-based risk stratification for late-relapse of B-precursor ALL):
For patients with T-cell ALL who achieved remission after bone marrow relapse, outcomes with postreinduction chemotherapy alone have generally been poor,[5] and these patients are usually treated with allogeneic HSCT in CR2, regardless of time to relapse.
Although there are no studies directly comparing chemotherapy with HSCT for patients in third or subsequent CR, because cure with chemotherapy alone is rare, transplant is generally considered a reasonable approach for those achieving remission. Long-term survival for all patients after a second relapse is particularly poor, in the range of less than 10% to 20%.[45] One of the main reasons for this is failure to obtain a third remission. In spite of numerous attempts at novel combination approaches, only about 40% of children with second relapse are able to achieve remission.[52] If these patients achieve CR, HSCT has been shown to cure 20% to 35%, with failures occurring due to high rates of relapse and transplant-related mortality.[53][54][55][56][57][Level of evidence: 3iiA]
An updated expert panel review of indications for HSCT has been published.[58] Components of the transplant process that have been shown to be important in improving or predicting outcome of HSCT for children with ALL include the following:
For patients proceeding to allogeneic HSCT, TBI appears to be an important component of the conditioning regimen. Two retrospective studies and a randomized trial suggest that transplant conditioning regimens that include
TBI produce higher cure rates than do chemotherapy-only
preparative regimens.[39][59][60] Fractionated TBI (total dose, 12–14 Gy) is often combined with cyclophosphamide, etoposide, thiotepa, or a combination of these agents. Study findings with these combinations have generally resulted in similar rates of survival,[61][62][63] although one study suggested that if cyclophosphamide is used without other chemotherapy drugs, a dose of TBI in the higher range may be necessary.[64] Many standard regimens include cyclophosphamide with TBI dosing between 1.32 and 1.4 Gy. On the other hand, when cyclophosphamide and etoposide were used with TBI, doses above 1.2 Gy resulted in worse survival due to excessive toxicity.[62]
Disease status at the time of transplantation has long been known to be an important predictor of outcome, with patients not in CR at HSCT having very poor survival rates.[65] Several studies have also demonstrated that the level of MRD at the time of transplant is a key risk factor in children with ALL in CR undergoing allogeneic HSCT.[23][66][67][68][69][70][Level of evidence: 3iiA] Survival rates of patients who are MRD-positive pretransplant have been reported between 20% and 47%, compared with 60% to 88% in patients who are MRD-negative.
When patients have received two to three cycles of chemotherapy in an attempt to achieve an MRD-negative remission, the benefit of further intensive therapy for achieving MRD negativity must be weighed against the potential for significant toxicity. In addition, there is not clear evidence showing that MRD positivity in a patient who has received multiple cycles of therapy is a biological disease marker for poor outcome that cannot be modified, or whether further intervention bringing such patients into an MRD negative remission will overcome this risk factor and improve survival. Several study groups are attempting to answer this question.
Survival rates after matched unrelated donor and umbilical cord blood transplantations have improved significantly over the past decade and offer an outcome similar to that obtained with matched sibling donor transplants.[43][71][72][73][74]; [75][Level of evidence: 2A]; [76][Level of evidence: 3iiiA]; [77][Level of evidence: 3iiiDii] Rates of clinically extensive graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and treatment-related mortality remain higher after unrelated donor transplantation compared with matched sibling donor transplants.[44][53][71] However, there is some evidence that matched unrelated donor transplantation may yield a lower relapse rate, and National Marrow Donor Program and Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) analyses have demonstrated that rates of GVHD, treatment-related mortality, and OS have improved over time.[78]; [79][80][Level of evidence: 3iiA]
Another CIBMTR study suggests that outcome after one or two antigen mismatched cord blood transplants may be equivalent to that for a matched family donor or a matched unrelated donor.[81] In certain cases in which no suitable donor is found or an immediate transplant is considered crucial, a haploidentical transplant utilizing large doses of stem cells may be considered.[82] For T cell-depleted CD34-selected haploidentical transplants in which a parent is the donor, patients receiving maternal stem cells may have a better outcome than those who receive paternal stem cells.[83][Level of evidence: 3iiA]
A number of approaches to prevent relapse after transplantation have been studied, including withdrawal of immune suppression or donor lymphocyte infusion and targeted immunotherapies, such as monoclonal antibodies and natural killer cell therapy.[84][85] Trials in Europe and the United States have shown that patients defined as having a high risk of relapse based upon increasing recipient chimerism (i.e., increased percentage of recipient DNA markers) can successfully undergo withdrawal of immune suppression without excessive toxicity.[86] One study showed that in 46 patients with increasing recipient chimerism, the 31 patients who underwent immune suppression withdrawal, donor lymphocyte infusion, or both therapies had a 3-year EFS of 37% versus 0% in the nonintervention group (P < .001).[87]
The use of post-HSCT intrathecal chemotherapy chemoprophylaxis is controversial.[88][89][90][91]
For patients relapsing after an allogeneic HSCT for ALL, a second ablative allogeneic HSCT may be feasible. However, many patients will be unable to undergo a second HSCT procedure because of failure to achieve remission, early toxic death, or severe organ toxicity related to salvage chemotherapy.[92] Among the highly selected group of patients able to undergo a second ablative allogeneic HSCT, approximately 10% to 30% may achieve long-term EFS.[92][93][94]; [57][95][Level of evidence: 3iiA] Prognosis is more favorable in patients with longer duration of remission after the first HSCT and in patients with CR at the time of the second HSCT.[93][94][96] In addition, one study showed an improvement in survival after second HSCT if acute GVHD occurred, especially if it had not occurred after the first transplant.[97]
Reduced-intensity approaches can also cure a percentage of patients when used as a second allogeneic transplant approach, but only if patients achieve a CR confirmed by flow cytometry.[98][Level of evidence: 2A] Donor leukocyte infusion has limited benefit for patients with ALL who relapse after allogeneic HSCT.[99]; [100][Level of evidence: 3iiiA]
Whether a second allogeneic transplant is necessary to treat isolated CNS and testicular relapse is unknown, and a small series has shown survival in selected patients using chemotherapy alone or chemotherapy followed by a second transplant.[101][Level of evidence: 3iA]
With improved success in treating children with ALL, the incidence of
isolated extramedullary relapse has decreased. The incidence of isolated
CNS relapse is less than 5%, and testicular relapse is less than 1% to 2%.[102][103][104] As with bone marrow and mixed relapses, time from initial diagnosis to relapse is a key prognostic factor in isolated extramedullary relapses.[105] In addition, age older than 6 years at diagnosis was noted to be an adverse prognostic factor for patients with an isolated extramedullary relapse in one study.[106] Of note, in the majority of children with isolated extramedullary relapses, submicroscopic marrow disease can be demonstrated using sensitive molecular techniques,[107] and successful treatment strategies must effectively control both local and systemic disease. Patients with an isolated CNS relapse who show greater than 0.01% MRD in a morphologically normal marrow have a worse prognosis (5-year EFS, 30%) than do patients with either no MRD or MRD less than 0.01% (5-year EFS, 60%).[107]
Standard treatment options for childhood ALL that has recurred in the CNS include the following:
the prognosis for children with isolated CNS relapse had been quite poor in the
past, aggressive systemic and intrathecal therapy followed by cranial or craniospinal
radiation has improved the outlook, particularly for patients who did not
receive cranial radiation during their first remission.[16][105][108][109]
Evidence (chemotherapy and radiation therapy):
A number of case series describing HSCT in the treatment of isolated CNS relapse have been published.[110][111] The use of transplantation to treat isolated CNS relapse occurring less than 18 months from diagnosis, especially T-cell CNS relapse, requires further study.
Evidence (HSCT):
The results of treatment of isolated testicular
relapse depend on the timing of the relapse. The 3-year EFS of boys with overt testicular relapse during therapy is approximately
40%; it is approximately 85% for boys with late testicular relapse.[113]
Standard treatment options in North America for childhood ALL that has recurred in the testes include the following:
The standard approach for treating isolated testicular relapse in North America is to administer intensive chemotherapy that includes high-dose methotrexate.[114] Patients who do not respond with a CR after induction also receive local radiation therapy.
In some European clinical trial groups, orchiectomy of the involved testicle is performed instead of radiation. Biopsy of the other testicle is performed at the time of relapse to determine if additional local control (surgical removal or radiation) is to be performed. A
study that looked at testicular biopsy at the end of frontline therapy failed to
demonstrate a survival benefit for patients with early detection of occult
disease.[115] While there are limited clinical data concerning outcome without the use of radiation therapy or orchiectomy, the use of chemotherapy (e.g., high-dose methotrexate) that may be able to achieve antileukemic levels in the testes is being tested in clinical trials.
Evidence (treatment of testicular relapse [case reports]):
Treatment options under clinical evaluation include the following:
Multiple clinical trials investigating new agents and new combinations of agents are available for children with second or subsequent relapsed or refractory ALL and should be considered. These trials are testing targeted treatments specific for ALL, including monoclonal antibody–based therapies and drugs that inhibit signal transduction pathways required for leukemia cell growth and survival.
Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with recurrent childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The list of clinical trials can be further narrowed by location, drug, intervention, and other criteria.
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The PDQ cancer information summaries are reviewed regularly and updated as
new information becomes available. This section describes the latest
changes made to this summary as of the date above.
Editorial changes were made to this summary.
This summary is written and maintained by the PDQ Pediatric Treatment Editorial Board, which is
editorially independent of NCI. The summary reflects an independent review of
the literature and does not represent a policy statement of NCI or NIH. More
information about summary policies and the role of the PDQ Editorial Boards in
maintaining the PDQ summaries can be found on the About This PDQ Summary and PDQ NCI's Comprehensive Cancer Database pages.
This information is provided by the National Cancer Institute.
This information was last updated on May 2, 2014.
Many children with cancer receive treatment in the outpatient setting, which allows them to stay in school and continue to develop intellectually and socially. However, returning to school can be an emotional experience; our Back to School Program is designed to ease your child's transition back to the classroom.
Concierge Services is your one-stop place to learn about Dana-Farber programs, services and resources, as well as information on getting around Boston, finding lodging or restaurants, and activities in the area.
The Expressive Arts Therapy program, sponsored by the Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies, provides adult patients, family members, and caregivers with a variety of options to support well-being during cancer treatment. From live music meditation to painting technique workshops, the program offers a range of creative outlets to suit every interest.
Dana-Farber and Children's Hospital, including parking facilities, are fully accessible to people with disabilities. There are wheelchairs at the main entrance, and security staff can provide personal assistance. We also have many educational materials available in large print and audiotape formats.
The Ethics Consultation Service is available for patients and families who may be facing difficult decisions and choices regarding care. Our goal is to bring together patients, families and health care providers to talk about ethical concerns and help everyone involved arrive at a resolution that is right for all.
Find practical tips and suggestions for individuals caring for a family member or friend with cancer, including creating a caregiving plan, finding community resources, and looking after your own well-being.
Friends' Place provides personal consultations to help cancer patients of all ages cope with changes in physical appearance that result from cancer treatment. Our experienced, compassionate team provides fittings for compression garments or breast prostheses, helps with wigs and other head coverings, and offers make-up and skincare advice.
The Friends' Corner Gift Shop, located on the first floor of the Yawkey Center for Cancer Care,