title: Acute Leukemia in Down Syndrome Children in Hong Kong: Retrospective Review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Children with Down syndrome (DS) are at higher risk of developing acute leukemia. Treatment continues to evolve as we accumulate better understanding of the distinctive clinical and biological features of acute leukemia in DS patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective review of the clinical features, treatment outcomes, and survival of DS children with acute leukemia in Hong Kong from 1993 to 2013 was conducted. Patients were identified from the registry of the Hong Kong Pediatric Hematology and Oncology study group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This cohort included a total of 29 patients with DS. Ten were diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and 19 had acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The mean follow-up duration was 8.3 years (range, 0.6 mo to 18.1 y). The 5-year overall survival and event-free survival for DS-acute lymphoblastic leukemia and DS-AML were 65.6%, 54.9%, 89.5%, and 89.5%, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of DS patients with acute leukemia in Hong Kong were comparable with results from other international study groups. Patients with DS-AML had a better prognosis.
authors.affiliation: *Department of Pediatrics, Prince of Wales Hospital, the Chinese University of Hong Kong †Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Queen Mary Hospital, the University of Hong Kong ‡Department of Pediatrics, Queen Elizabeth Hospital §Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Tuen Mun Hospital ∥Department of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, Princess Margaret Hospital, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Grace Kee See
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.forename: Alex Wing Kwan
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.forename: Shau Yin
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Ha
authors.forename: Chung Wing
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Luk
authors.forename: Chak Ho
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Siu Cheung
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Ling
authors.forename: Alan Kwok Shing
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Chiang
authors.forename: Chi Kong
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies