title: Dexamethasone versus prednisone and daily oral versus weekly intravenous mercaptopurine for patients with standard-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a report from the Children's Cancer Group.
abstract: Conventional therapy for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) includes prednisone and oral 6-mercaptopurine. Prior observations suggested potential advantages for dexamethasone over prednisone and for intravenous (IV) over oral 6-mercaptopurine, which remain to be validated. We report the results of a randomized trial of more than 1000 subjects that examined the efficacy of dexamethasone and IV 6-mercaptopurine. Children with National Cancer Institute standard-risk ALL were randomly assigned in a 2 x 2 factorial design to receive dexamethasone (6 mg/m(2)/d) for 28 days in induction, plus taper, compared with prednisone (40 mg/m(2)/d). The second randomized assignment was for daily oral or weekly IV 6-mercaptopurine during consolidation. During maintenance, 5 days of the randomized steroid was given monthly, at the same dose, and all patients received daily oral 6-mercaptopurine. During delayed intensification, all patients received a dexamethasone dosage of 10 mg/m(2)/d for 21 days, with taper. Intrathecal (IT) methotrexate was the sole central nervous system-directed therapy. Patients randomly assigned to receive dexamethasone had a 6-year isolated central nervous system-relapse rate of 3.7% +/- 0.8%, compared with 7.1% +/- 1.1% for prednisone (P =.01). There was also a trend toward fewer isolated bone marrow relapses with dexamethasone. The 6-year event-free survival (EFS) was 85% +/- 2% for dexamethasone and 77% +/- 2% for prednisone (P =.002). EFS was similar with oral or IV 6-mercaptopurine; however, patients assigned to IV 6-mercaptopurine had decreased survival after relapse.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Oncology, Children's Hospitals and Clinics, Minneapolis, MN, USA. bostrom@childrenshc.org
authors.forename: Bruce C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Bostrom
authors.forename: Martha R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Sensel
authors.forename: Harland N
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Sather
authors.forename: Paul S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Gaynon
authors.forename: Mei K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: La
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Johnston
authors.forename: Gary R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Erdmann
authors.forename: Stuart
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gold
authors.forename: Nyla A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Heerema
authors.forename: Raymond J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Hutchinson
authors.forename: Arthur J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Provisor
authors.forename: Michael E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Trigg
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001772:Blood Cell Count; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D007278:Injections, Spinal; D007621:Karyotyping; D008297:Male; D015122:Mercaptopurine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008727:Methotrexate / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics; D011241:Prednisone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; D003907:Dexamethasone; D015122:Mercaptopurine; D011241:Prednisone; D008727:Methotrexate