RSS
Home
New treatments raise survival rates for childhood leukemia
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Published in the October 5th issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, were the results of a study done on continuous daily doses of a drug called imatinib mesylate to regular chemotherapy. It more than doubled three-year survival rates (survival rate refers to the length of time that a patient survived without a relapse and without developing a new cancer) for children with a high risk type of blood cancer called Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL).
Using only conventional chemotherapy the three year survival rate for children with this high-risk type of leukemia is 30-30 percent. However with continuous treatments of imatinib for 2 ½ years increased the survival rates to 87 percent. Imatinib is a pill that's used to treat some adult leukemias and gastrointestinal cancers. It binds to a specific protein in cancer cells and prevents the cells from proliferating. There are multiple types of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and each responds differently to treatment. Ph+ ALL involves genetic abnormalities on two specific chromosomes. Because traditional chemotherapy doesn't work well for many children with Ph+ ALL, the standard treatment is blood and marrow transplantation, a life-saving procedure that's associated with a risk of complications.
For this study, there were 92 children and adolescents between one and 21 years of age with Ph+ ALL. Each received an initial four weeks of standard chemotherapy. They were assigned to five different groups that received imatinib for different lengths of time: either 42, 63, 84, 126, or 280 days. All patients received an additional 336 days of imatinib.
The group that received imatinib for more than 280 continuous days had survival rates of 87 per cent, a dramatic improvement over traditional chemotherapy and blood and marrow transplantation. Groups that received imatinib for 84 and 126 days showed moderate improvement in survival rates, while groups receiving the drug for 42 and 63 days had the same survival rates as current standard treatments. There were also 21 patients with Ph+ ALL who were treated with blood and marrow transplantation followed by six months of imatinib. This approach didn't affect survival rates.
The researchers are now looking at setting up a phase three study to validate whether adding imatinib to chemotherapy could replace blood and marrow transplantation as the standard treatment for Ph+ ALL.
For more information visit:
Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Connecticut
If you enjoyed this article and would like to be notified of new articles please click SUBSCRIBE for a SPAM-FREE email update.
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
.jpg)
