Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has witnessed substantial improvements in prognosis; however, a subset of patients classified as high-risk continues to face higher rates of relapse and increased mortality. While the National Cancer Institute (NCI) criteria have traditionally guided risk stratification based on initial clinical information, recent advances highlight the pivotal role of biological markers in shaping the prognosis of childhood ALL. This review delves into the emerging understanding of high-risk childhood ALL, focusing on molecular, cytogenetic, and immunophenotypic markers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Objective: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common hematologic malignancy of lymphoid origin in children. The prognosis for newly diagnosed ALL in the pediatric population is generally favorable, with a 5-year overall survival rate of more than 90%. Though conventional therapy has led to meaningful improvements in cure rates for new-onset pediatric ALL, one-third of patients still experience a relapse or refractory disease, contributing to a significant cause of pediatric cancer-related mortality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExpert Opin Pharmacother
December 2022
Introduction: Pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a rare disease that is profoundly heterogeneous at a molecular and clinical level. Although, in recent clinical trials, the 5-year event-free survival rates for childhood AML ranged between 49% and 64%, bone marrow relapse still occurs in up to one-third of cases. New therapies are required to continue progress in this aggressive hematological disease.
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