Treatment of acute myeloid leukemia in children

Abstract

The results of treatment in children with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) have considerably improved in the past 15 years. Whether cranial irradiation, maintenance therapy, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation should be used during the first remission remains unclear. This paper presents the histo- ry of development of AML treatment in children, the potentialities of current chemotherapy, and indications for allogenic and autologous hemopoietic stem cell transplantation in accordance with the data obtained by different groups of investigators, including ones from Russia. The Institute of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology (IPOH), Russian Cancer Research Cancer, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, has developed and introduced an IPOH AML proto- col in 2002. From July 2002 to January 2006, 40 patients were enrolled in this study and stratified into 3 risk groups: 1) a standard risk group (n = 10 — 28.6%)); 2) an intermediate risk group (17 — 48,6%), and 3) a high risk group (n = 8 — 22.9%). Three-year relapse-free survival was 40±12%.