The incidence of treatment related mortality in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is reported to be between 2% and 4% with infections being the leading cause.
Aim: To establish a relationship between body mass index at diagnosis (BMI 0), after protocol I therapy completion (BMI I) and the incidence rate ratio (IRR) of infectious/febrile episodes in children with ALL intermediate risk.
Methods: Thirty one consecutive patients (2-18 years old, with a male to female ratio of 19/12) with newly diagnosed ALL that were treated uniformly according to ALL IC 2009 protocol were included in this analysis.
Results: A BMI decrease of at least 5% during protocol I therapy and BMI 1 under 15th percentile score corresponds significantly with higher IRR (with P-values 0.04 and 0.006 respectively) during the whole intensive therapy.
Conclusion: Some relationships between BMI reduction and higher IRR in ALL patients were found, but their significance is limited by the size of the group analyzed.