文摘
There is no standard treatment for adolescents aged 15?years or older with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), although this age group has been reported as having a poorer prognosis compared to younger patients. We retrospectively analyzed the outcomes of three consecutive Tokyo Children’s Cancer Study Group ALL trials (1995-006) of 373 patients aged 10?years or older, with particular focus on adolescents aged 15-8?years (older-adolescents n?=?41), compared to those aged 10-4?years (younger-adolescents n?=?332). The probability of event-free survival at 8?years was 67.5?±?7.4?% for the older-adolescents and 66.5?±?2.6?% for the younger-adolescents (p?=?0.95). Overall survival was 70.7?±?7.1?% for the older-adolescents and 74.3?±?2.4?% for the younger-adolescents (p?=?0.48). The differences between groups in relapse incidence, non-relapse mortality, and death rate during induction were not statistically significant, although the older-adolescents trended towards a higher frequency of having stem-cell transplantation during the first remission. In conclusion, our treatment strategy, which consists of intensive induction and block-type consolidation, provided improved outcomes for patients aged 15-8?years, comparable to those for patients aged 10-4?years.