Survival in High-risk Childhood Leukaemia Patients Increased by Drug-Chemo Combination

Daily doses of a targeted drug called imatinib mesylate along with regular chemotherapy can almost double the survival rate of children with a high risk type of blood cancer called Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL), says a new study.

Known commercially as Gleevec, imatinib is a pill that's used to treat some adult leukemias and gastrointestinal cancers.

About Leukemia
Encyclopedia section of medindia gives general information about Leukemia

It binds to a specific protein in cancer cells and prevents the cells from proliferating.

"With conventional chemotherapy, the three-year survival rate for children with this high-risk type of leukemia is between 30-35 per cent," said Dr. Kirk Schultz, professor of pediatrics at the University of British Columbia.

"Adding continuous exposure to imatinib for two-and-a-half years made a big difference and increased the survival rates to 87 per cent. The drug was well tolerated and it didn't have any significant side effects," he added.

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia - Incidence Causes Symptoms Diagnosis Treatment Prognosis
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the cancer of white blood cells characterized by excess lymphoblasts. It is the most common of all childhood cancers and can be fatal in weeks if left untreated.

Since 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.

During the study, researchers recruited 92 children and adolescents between one and 21 years of age with Ph+ ALL and to five different groups that received imatinib for different lengths of time.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia-Causes-Symptoms-Diagnosis-Treatment-Prognosis-FAQs
Acute myeloid Leukemia, more popularly known by its abbreviated form AML, is a fast- evolving leukemia that affects both children and adults alike

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.

Chronic Myeloid Leukemia
Chronic myeloid Leukemia is one of the most common types of blood cancer. It is characterized by excess of WBC stem cells in the bone marrow.

"Using imatinib plus chemotherapy had a synergistic type of interaction," said Schultz.

"I never expected these results. Although it's very promising, we need to do more follow up to get the five-year survival data and determine the long-term survival.

"We submitted our study for publication earlier instead of waiting because the data was so exciting and this type of leukemia is such high risk," he added.

Source-ANI
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