title: Treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children and adolescents: peaks and pitfalls.
abstract: Survival of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is often described as the success story for oncology. The improvements in the treatment of ALL represent the work of cooperative groups at their best. Fifty years ago a pediatric oncologist would have never considered using the term "cure" in a discussion with a family whose child was diagnosed with ALL. Today the term is not only used in the initial discussion but referred to frequently thereafter. However, as we all know, cure is not assured and is not obtained without sequelae. This review will focus on the improvements in treatment for newly diagnosed ALL in children and adolescents according to risk group and some of the challenges that remain despite the improved outcome.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Investigations Branch, Cancer Treatment Evaluation Program, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. seibelnl@mail.nih.gov
authors.forename: Nita L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Seibel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D004171:Diploidy; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D006801:Humans; D015122:Mercaptopurine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008727:Methotrexate / Q000627:therapeutic use; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000401:mortality; D012074:Remission Induction; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; D015122:Mercaptopurine; D008727:Methotrexate