Pediatric-inspired treatment regimen for adult patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia

This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of an adult treatment regimen and a pediatric-inspired regimen in adult patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia. 

This study concluded that the pediatric-inspired regimen is superior to the adult treatment regimen for these patients.  

Many studies for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) with multi-agent chemotherapy have been carried out. These studies showed had good outcomes in pediatric patients in terms of long-term survival. There is a lack of evidence for the outcomes for adult patients with ALL treated with multi-agent chemotherapy. 

It was unknown if adolescent and young adults (AYA) with ALL would benefit from a pediatric-inspired regimen with a higher rate of long-term remission. 

This study involved 107 patients with ALL aged from 15 to 63 years. 67.3% of these patients received an adult treatment regimen and 32.7% received a pediatric-inspired regimen. Patients were followed for an average of 11.6 months.  

Complete remission (CR) means that all signs of the cancer are gone. Over 80% of patients in both the adult treatment group and the pediatric treatment group achieved CR.  

Relapse (responds to treatment and returns) and refractory (does not respond to treatment) rates were 45.7% for the pediatric treatment group compared to 75% in the adult treatment group. 

The two-year survival rate without the disease for the pediatric treatment group was 47.1% compared to 24.7% in the adult treatment group.  

The two-year overall survival rate for the pediatric treatment group was 50.8% compared to 31.2% for the adult treatment group. 

This study concluded that the pediatric-inspired regimen is superior to the adult treatment regimen for adult patients with ALL and should be considered as a treatment option.  

This study was based on medical records of patients. Some information was missing. This can influence the results.