title: ALL-BFM 95 treatment in Turkish children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia--experience of a single center.
abstract: Little is known about the likelihood of curing children with high-dose chemotherapy regimens for treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in Turkey. The authors here report their 13 years' experience with original ALL-BFM (Berlin-Franfurt-Münster) 95 protocol in a cohort of 140 Turkish children with ALL. Complete remission rate was 97.7% with a relapse rate of 12.9% and death rate 17.9% during a median follow-up of 69 months. The event-free survival (EFS), disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS) in these patients at 12 years were 75.0%, 87.1%, and 80.6%, respectively. These results show that ALL-BFM 95 protocol is equally applicable in the experienced centers, even in developing countries without substantial treatment-related toxicity. High rate of infection deaths are to be reduced with correct policies.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Pediatric Hematology, Department of Pediatrics, Gazi University School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey. ulkerkocak@gazi.edu.tr
authors.forename: Ulker
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Kocak
authors.forename: Turkiz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gursel
authors.forename: Zuhre
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kaya
authors.forename: Yusuf Ziya
authors.initials: YZ
authors.lastname: Aral
authors.forename: Meryem
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Albayrak
authors.forename: Ebru Yılmaz
authors.initials: EY
authors.lastname: Keskin
authors.forename: Burcu
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Belen
authors.forename: Melek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Isık
authors.forename: Nergiz
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Oner
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics; D012008:Recurrence; D012074:Remission Induction; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014421:Turkey