Low doses of chemotherapy good for children

Researchers from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, US, have found that low doses of chemotherapy works equally well for children with cancer, and thus limits the side effects of the therapy as well.

The researchers had looked into the chemotherapy given to children suffering from Acute Lymphblastic Leukemia (ALL). Patients suffering from for this type of childhood cancer were administered very limited dosage of chemotherapy and were monitored for a period of 12 years.

The results had showed that 86.4% of the patients under the medication during study was described as event-free at the end of the ten year period. These are patients who did not have a relapse or any other cancerous growth in that period. The others were overall survivors who survived the time frame but had at least one of the previous conditions during the period.

Researchers also had found out that bone marrow count and having extra chromosomes were the only two factors that can lead to a relapse or growth of malignancy during the ten-year period after the limited dosage chemotherapy.

The results of the study were presented at American Society of Pediatric Hematology/ Oncology (ASPHO) annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

Reference: Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, News Release, May 2005