Outcome of pediatric chronic myeloid leukemia with management focusing on the monitoring of BCR-ABL fusion gene transcript levels.

Background And Objective: Clinical, laboratory and outcome data were reviewed for pediatric patients who were diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and managed at two tertiary care hospitals in Saudi Arabia, between January 2011 and December 2017 to assess the response to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) focusing on the monitoring of BCR-ABL fusion gene transcript levels and to look at the overall outcome.

Methods: CML patients were identified based on the cytogenetic and molecular results.

Results: Twelve pediatric patients diagnosed with CML at a median age of 8.

Incidence trends of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia in Saudi Arabia: Increasing incidence or competing risks?

Introduction: The incidence of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (cALL) varies between countries likely as a result of competing risks including infections, access-to-care, socioeconomic influences, and/or ethnicity. However, little is known about disease burden in high-income Arab countries offering free-of-charge healthcare. The hypothesis was that, due to population characteristics (young age, high fertility and parental consanguinity rate), the incidence of cALL in Saudi Arabia is equal or higher than that observed in high-income Western countries.

Identifying Prognostic Factors That Influence Outcome of Childhood Acute Myeloid Leukemia in First Relapse in Saudi Arabia: Results of the Multicenter SAPHOS Study.

Background: The outcome of childhood acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in first relapse (rAML) remains poor. Reported overall survival (OS) rates vary between high-income developed countries and those with fewer resources. The OS of rAML in high-income developing countries (HIDCs) has not been reported.

Clinical characteristics and outcome of childhood acute promyelocitic leukemia (APL) in Saudi Arabia: a multicenter SAPHOS leukemia group study.

Background: Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a rare form of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Survival rates exceed 80% in developed countries. Successful treatments rely on all-trans retinoic acid with anthracycline-based chemotherapy.

Treatment results in children with myeloid leukemia of Down syndrome in Saudi Arabia: A multicenter SAPHOS leukemia group study.

Despite the high incidence of Down syndrome (DS) in Arab countires, the incidence and outcomes of myeloid leukemia of DS (ML-DS) have not been studied. We evaluated 206 pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients diagnosed between 2005 and 2012 and identified 31 (15%) ML-DS. The incidence of ML-DS was 48 per 100,000 compared to 0.

Clinical characteristics and outcome of childhood de novo acute myeloid leukemia in Saudi Arabia: A multicenter SAPHOS leukemia group study.

Geographic variation and ethnicity have been implicated to influence the outcome of pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Furthermore, survival outcomes from developing countries are reported to be inferior to developed nations. We hypothesized that risk- and response-based outcome in high-income resource-rich developing countries would be comparable to developed nations as access to care and supportive measures would be similar.