[Treatment results in children with standard-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Report of the Polish Pediatric Leukemia/Lymphoma Study Group]

Abstract

Since 01.07.1993 to 30.09.2002, 640 children (48.2% girls and 51.8% boys) with ALL-SR were diagnosed and treated according to the modified ALL-BFM 90 protocol. In 29 children the treatment was intensified because of poor corticosteroid response. Subject to statistical analysis (Kaplan-Meier method) were thus 611 children with ALL-SR. Among them, 89 patients failed to respond to therapy: 10 (1.6%) early deaths, 15 (2.5%) deaths during I complete remission, 64 (10.5%) relapses. Relapses occurred: 45 (7.4%) in bone marrow, 11 (1.8%) in central nervous system, 4 (0.7%) in testicular and in 4 (0.7%) children combined relapses were observed. Probability rates for 9-year event free survival (EFS) and relapse free survival (RFS) for all patients were 0.77 (0.02) and 0.79 (0.02), respectively. Application of high dose of methotrexate is effective in prevention of relapses, especially meningeal and testicular involvement.