Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Treatment (PDQ®): Treatment - Patient Information [NCI]

Add save! | | |
 

A link to a list of current clinical trials is included for each treatment section. For some types or stages of cancer, there may not be any trials listed. Check with your doctor for clinical trials that are not listed here but may be right for you.

Newly Diagnosed Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Standard treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) during the induction, consolidation/intensification, and maintenance phases may include the following:

  • Combination chemotherapy.
  • CNS sanctuary therapy with intrathecal chemotherapy and high-dose chemotherapy. Sometimes radiation therapy to the brain may be given.
  • Combination chemotherapy followed by stem cell transplant using stem cells from a donor.
  • A clinical trial of a new combination chemotherapy and intrathecal chemotherapy regimen given with or without radiation therapy. The chemotherapy dose and/or schedule may vary depending on the patient's risk group after induction therapy.

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. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.

Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Subgroups

Standard treatment of T-cell childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) may include the following:

  • Combination chemotherapy. CNS sanctuary therapy with intrathecal chemotherapy and radiation therapy to the brain may also be given.
  • A clinical trial studying a new anticancer drug, the doses of certain anticancer drugs, and the use of radiation therapy to the brain.

Standard treatment of infants with ALL may include the following:

  • Combination chemotherapy. CNS sanctuary therapy with intrathecal chemotherapy may also be given
  • Chemotherapy followed by a donorstem cell transplant has been studied but it is not known if this treatment improves survival.
  • A clinical trial of chemotherapy followed by a donor stem cell transplant for infants with certain gene changes.
  • A clinical trial of combination chemotherapy and targeted therapy with a tyrosine kinase inhibitor.

Standard treatment of ALL in older children and teenagers may include the following:

  • Combination chemotherapy using stronger doses of anticancer drugs than those used for young children.
  • A clinical trial of a new chemotherapy regimen.
  • A clinical trial studying a new anticancer drug, the doses of certain anticancer drugs, and the use of radiation therapy to the brain.

Standard treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive childhood ALL may include the following:

  • Combination chemotherapy followed by stem cell transplant using stem cells from a donor.
  • Combination chemotherapy followed by targeted therapy with a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (imatinib mesylate).
  • A clinical trial of combination chemotherapy and a new tyrosine kinase inhibitor.

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 and Philadelphia chromosome positive childhood precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.

Recurrent Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Standard treatment of recurrent childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) for leukemia that comes back in the bone marrow may include the following:

  • Combination chemotherapy.
  • Chemotherapy with or without total-body irradiation followed by a stem cell transplant, using stem cells from a donor.

Standard treatment of recurrent childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) for leukemia that comes back outside the bone marrow may include the following:

  • Chemotherapy and radiation therapy for cancer that comes back in the testicles only.
  • Combination chemotherapy and intrathecal chemotherapy with radiation therapy to the brain and/or spinal cord for cancer that comes back in the brain and spinal cord only.

Some of the treatments being studied in clinical trials for recurrent childhood ALL include the following:

  • Combination chemotherapy and targeted therapy with a monoclonal antibody .
  • New anticancer drugs and new combination chemotherapy treatments.
  • Combination chemotherapy and new kinds of targeted therapies.

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. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.

PDQ is a comprehensive cancer database available on NCI's Web site.

PDQ is the National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) comprehensive cancer information database. Most of the information contained in PDQ is available online at NCI's Web site. PDQ is provided as a service of the NCI. The NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health, the federal government's focal point for biomedical research.

PDQ contains cancer information summaries.

The PDQ database contains summaries of the latest published information on cancer prevention, detection, genetics, treatment, supportive care, and complementary and alternative medicine. Most summaries are available in two versions. The health professional versions provide detailed information written in technical language. The patient versions are written in easy-to-understand, nontechnical language. Both versions provide current and accurate cancer information.

The PDQ cancer information summaries are developed by cancer experts and reviewed regularly.

Editorial Boards made up of experts in oncology and related specialties are responsible for writing and maintaining the cancer information summaries. The summaries are reviewed regularly and changes are made as new information becomes available. The date on each summary ("Date Last Modified") indicates the time of the most recent change.

PDQ also contains information on clinical trials.

A clinical trial is a study to answer a scientific question, such as whether one treatment is better than another. Trials are based on past studies and what has been learned in the laboratory. Each trial answers certain scientific questions in order to find new and better ways to help cancer patients. During treatment clinical trials, information is collected about the effects of a new treatment and how well it works. If a clinical trial shows that a new treatment is better than one currently being used, the new treatment may become "standard." In the United States, about two-thirds of children with cancer are treated in a clinical trial at some point in their illness.

Listings of clinical trials are included in PDQ and are available online at NCI's Web site. Descriptions of the trials are available in health professional and patient versions. For additional help in locating a childhood cancer clinical trial, call the Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).

The PDQ database contains listings of groups specializing in clinical trials.

The Children's Oncology Group (COG) is the major group that organizes clinical trials for childhood cancers in the United States. Information about contacting COG is available on the NCI Web site or from the Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).

Last Revised: 2011-04-07

If you want to know more about cancer and how it is treated, or if you wish to know about clinical trials for your type of cancer, you can call the NCI's Cancer Information Service at 1-800-422-6237, toll free. A trained information specialist can talk with you and answer your questions.

© 1995-2011 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.

Advertisement

See All Boards

find discussions about...

See All Tools

See All News