Childhood Acute Myeloid Leukemia/Other Myeloid Malignancies Treatment (PDQ®): Treatment - Patient Information [NCI]

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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 Myeloid Leukemia

Treatment of newly diagnosed childhood acute myeloid leukemia may include the following:

  • Combination chemotherapy plus central nervous system sanctuary therapy (intrathecal chemotherapy with or without radiation therapy to the brain).
  • A clinical trial comparing different chemotherapyregimens (doses and schedules of treatment).

Treatment of newly diagnosed childhood acute leukemia with a granulocytic sarcoma (chloroma) may include chemotherapy with or without radiation therapy.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with untreated childhood acute myeloid leukemia and other myeloid malignancies. 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 Myeloid Leukemia in Remission

Treatment of childhood acute myeloid leukemia (AML) during the remission phase (consolidation/intensification therapy) depends on the subtype of AML and may include the following:

  • Combination chemotherapy.
  • Stem cell transplant.
  • A clinical trial of targeted therapy with natural killer celltransplant after chemotherapy.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with childhood acute myeloid leukemia in remission. 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 Myeloid Leukemia

Treatment of recurrent childhood acute myeloid leukemia may include the following:

  • Combination chemotherapy
  • Combination chemotherapy and stem cell transplant.
  • A clinical trial of a new anticancer drug.
  • A clinical trial of targeted therapy with a tyrosine kinase inhibitor and combination chemotherapy.
  • A clinical trial of stem cell transplant using different sources of stem cells.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with recurrent childhood acute myeloid 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.

Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia

Treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia may include the following:

  • All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) plus chemotherapy.
  • Arsenic trioxidetherapy.
  • Combination chemotherapy.
  • A clinical trial of chemotherapy and ATRA with or without arsenic trioxide.

Supportive care treatments are used to manage problems caused by the disease, such as infection, bleeding, and anemia.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with childhood acute promyelocytic leukemia (M3). 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 Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia

Treatment of recurrentacute promyelocytic leukemia may include the following:

  • All-trans retinoic acidtherapy (ATRA).
  • Arsenic trioxide therapy
  • A clinical trial of targeted therapy with a proteasome inhibitor and ATRA.

Children with Down Syndrome and AML

Treatment of acute myeloid leukemia in children who have Down syndrome may include the following:

  • Combination chemotherapy.
  • A clinical trial of lower-dosechemotherapy.

Childhood Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia

Treatment for childhood chronic myelogenous leukemia may include the following:

  • Stem cell transplant.
  • Targeted therapy with Gleevec or other tyrosine kinase inhibitors.
  • A clinical trial of stem cell transplant using lower doses of chemotherapy.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with childhood chronic myelogenous 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.

Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia

Treatment of juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia is usually stem cell transplant.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with juvenile myelomonocytic 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.

Transient Myeloproliferative Disorder

Transient myeloproliferative disorder (TMD) usually goes away on its own. For TMD that does not go away on its own, treatment may include the following:

  • Transfusiontherapy.
  • Leukapheresis.
  • Chemotherapy.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with acute myeloid leukemia/transient myeloproliferative disorder. 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.

Myelodysplastic Syndromes

Treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) may include the following:

  • Stem cell transplant.
  • Combination chemotherapy.
  • A clinical trial of a new anticancer drug or targeted therapy.

Supportive care treatments are used to manage problems caused by the disease, such as infection, bleeding, and anemia.

If the MDS progresses to acute myeloid leukemia (AML), treatment will be the same as treatment for the newly diagnosed patient with AML.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with childhood myelodysplastic syndromes. 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: 2010-10-28

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.

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