Haematologists' approaches to the management of adolescents and young adults with acute leukaemia.
Approaches to the management of adolescents and young adults with acute leukaemia were investigated by sending a questionnaire to hospitals identified as having diagnosed or treated patients aged 15-29 years. The responses demonstrated the types of hospital treating these patients, the haematologists' perceived practice for entry of patients to Medical Research Council (MRC) leukaemia trials and reasons for non-entry. Data were linked to MRC trials data to determine the proportion of patients aged 15-29 years at diagnosis in responding hospitals actually treated in MRC leukaemia trials in the 5 years preceding the questionnaire. Eighty-two per cent of haematologists stated that they entered patients 'always' or 'whenever possible' for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and 76% for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), but actual entry rates from the study hospitals were 46% of 239 AML patients and 36% of 182 ALL patients. The reasons most commonly reported for not entering eligible patients to national leukaemia trials were clinician preference for one arm of an MRC trial, a regional study or non-trial protocol, and concern about workload and ethical approval.
Benjamin
S
S
Childhood Cancer Research Group, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. sylvia.benjamin@nbs.nhs.uk
Kroll
M E
ME
Cartwright
R A
RA
Clough
J V
JV
Gorst
D W
DW
Proctor
S J
SJ
Ross
J R
JR
Taylor
P R
PR
Wheatley
K
K
Whittaker
J A
JA
Stiller
C A
CA
D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D006405:Hematology / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007938:Leukemia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D007951:Leukemia, Myeloid / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D018579:Patient Selection; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom