Oncology Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Oncology, including details on cancer, surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy. | ||||||||
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Antimetabolite therapy for lesser-risk B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia of childhood: a report from Children's Oncology Group Study P9201.Chauvenet AR, Martin PL, Devidas M, Linda SB, Bell BA, Kurtzberg J, Pullen J, Pettenati MJ, Carroll AJ, Shuster JJ, Camitta B Department of Pediatrics, Wake Forest University Medical Center, Winston-Salem, NC, USA. achauvenet@triad.rr.com Pediatric Oncology Group (POG) protocol 9201 enrolled children with lesser-risk B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) defined by age (1-9), white blood cell count (WBC) less than 50 x 10(9)/L (50,000/microL), DNA findings of trisomies 4 and 10 (or DNA index > 1.16), and lack of overt central nervous system (CNS) leukemia. After vincristine, prednisone, and asparaginase induction, 650 of 653 eligible patients attained remission (3 induction deaths) and received 6 courses of intravenous methotrexate (1 g/m(2)) with daily mercaptopurine. Weekly intramuscular methotrexate was added during maintenance; pulses of vincristine and prednisone were administered with periodic intrathecal chemotherapy. Treatment duration was 2.5 years. No alkylators, epipodophylotoxins, anthracyclines, or radiation were given. The 6-year event-free survival (EFS) was 86.6% with overall survival (OS) of 97.2%. Patients with less than 5% marrow blasts on induction day 15 had superior EFS. A difference not reaching conventional statistical significance (P = .068) was noted for superior outcomes in patients with trisomies of chromosomes 4 and 10 versus those lacking double trisomies. Sex, ethnicity, CNS status, and WBC were not predictive. This indicates the great majority of children with lesser-risk B-lineage ALL are curable without agents with substantial late effects. Published 7 August 2007 in Blood, 110(4): 1105-11.
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