Journal issues > Issue 3, May 2020 > Big Children or Small Adults? Leukaemia Treatment in Adolescence and Young Adulthood

Big Children or Small Adults? Leukaemia Treatment in Adolescence and Young Adulthood

By: R. Callens MD, B. De Moerloose MD, PhD, T. Kerre MD, PhD, M. Quaghebeur , J. De Munter , I. Moors MD

SUMMARY

The outcome of adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) has improved dramatically over the last decades by using paediatric and paediatric-inspired protocols in this age group. The outcome of different paediatric, paediatric-inspired and adult-based regimens are compared in this review. Despite pre-existing fear among clinicians to use these high-intensity paediatric regimens in AYAs, toxicities seem manageable, with treatment-related mortality comparable to that seen with adult protocols. In paediatric protocols, the use of allogeneic stem cell transplantation is restricted to certain high-risk groups and prophylactic cranial irradiation is omitted. In recent years, evaluation of minimal residual disease is increasingly used as prognostic marker and as a tool to guide therapy. In Philadelphia-positive ALL, the use of tyrosine-kinase inhibitors has completely changed prognosis and therapeutic decisions.

(BELG J HEMATOL 2020;11(3):88–97)

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