J Korean Pediatr Soc.  2003 Dec;46(12):1260-1265.

Effect of Delayed Intensification on Survival of Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

• Lee JY
• Youn S
• Kwon BC
• Lyu CJ
• Kim HM

Abstract

PURPOSE
In 1970, the Berlin-Frankfurt-Munster(BFM) group introduced an intensification therapy after remission induction to reduce relapse of acute lymphoblastic leukemia(ALL) in childhood. Delayed intensification(DI) phase has been included for treatment of ALL in our hospital since the mid-1990s. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the outcome with vs. without DI phase and the outcome with two vs. one DI phase for intermediate risk patients.
METHODS
One hundred and thirty nine children with ALL who were treated at the Department of Pediatrics of Wonju Christian Hospital and Yonsei University Medical Center between March, 1990 and July, 2002 were analysed retrospectively.
RESULTS
Thirty-eight patients were treated with a DI phase, and 101 patients were treated without a DI phase. Among the DI patients, seven patients were treated with a double DI phase. Five-year overall survival(OS) in the low, intermediate, and high risk groups were 68%, 66% and 58%, respectively. 5-year OS in DDI, DI, and control were 95%, 86% and 40%, espectively. In the low risk group, 5-year event free survival(EFS) in DI, and control were 94% and 58%, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS
Delayed intensification improved EFS on childhood ALL in all risk groups.

Keyword

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia; Delayed intensification; Childhood

MeSH Terms

Academic Medical Centers
Child
Gangwon-do
Humans
Pediatrics
Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma*
Recurrence
Remission Induction
Retrospective Studies