Comparison of intermediate-dose methotrexate with cranial irradiation for the post-induction treatment of acute lymphocytic leukemia in children.

We compared two regimens with respect to their ability to prolong disease-free survival in 506 children and adolescents with acute lymphocytic leukemia. All responders to induction therapy were randomized to treatment with 2400 rad of cranial irradiation plus intrathecal methotrexate or to treatment with intermediate-dose methotrexate plus intrathecal methotrexate, as prophylaxis for involvement of the central nervous system and other "sanctuary" areas. Patients were then treated with a standard maintenance regimen.

Folic acid and vitamin D status of young children receiving minimal anticonvulsant drug therapy.

The effects of long term, low dosage anticonvulsant drug therapy on the vitamin D and folacin status of young children was studied. Biochemical and dietary parameters including serum calcium, phosphorous and alkaline phosphatase; serum and red blood cell folacin; serum drug concentrations; hematocrits; and dietary intakes of vitamin D and folacin were measured in seven subjects. All subjects were taking low dosages of medication.

Xeroderma pigmentosum exhibiting neurological disorders and systemic lupus erythematosus.

A patient is described who has a unique combination of symptoms that correspond with two sun-sensitive conditions: xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Both of these conditions have been suggested as being associated with a defect in DNA repair, but this is only clearly established for XP. The patient described is the only known case among U.

Genealogy of cancer in a family.

Three brothers had separate childhood cancers--osteogenic sarcoma, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and bilateral malignant neurilemoma. Comprehensive family history showed a total of 16 cases of cancer among the descendants of the proband's great-great-great-grandmother, including a previously unsuspected cluster of similar neoplasms in an distant branch. The constellation of tumors in the family included bony and soft-tissue sarcomas, brain and neural tumors, leukemia, and breast carcinoma, occurring in a pattern suggesting the action of an incompletely penetrant autosomal dominant gene with pleiotropic effects.