Publication Date:
2006-11-01
Description:
Background: Despite improving outcomes, 25–50% of children and young adults with acute leukemia still relapse and most salvage rates are discouraging. Additional prognostic factors, particularly those that represent host factors, may further stratify patients and decrease relapse rates. Purpose: To determine if absolute lymphocyte counts (ALC) during induction chemotherapy can improve current risk stratification and predict relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) in children and young adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Methods: We analyzed 160 consecutive cases of de novo ALL and AML patients 1–21 years of age, treated at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center from 1995–2005. Age at diagnosis, initial WBC, bone marrow blast % on days 0 and 7, were analyzed with ALC on days 0, 15, 21 and 28 of induction therapy. Results: ALC during induction therapy is a significant independent predictor of RFS and OS in young adults and children with either ALL or AML. Specifically, an ALC
Print ISSN:
0006-4971
Electronic ISSN:
1528-0020
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine
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