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URL http://www.rockymountainbmt.com/news/St-Jude-develops-follow-up-test-to-identify-children-with-acute-lymphoblastic-leukemia-455.html

St. Jude develops follow-up test to identify children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia

06-26-2006

St. Jude investigators have developed a relatively simple and inexpensive test that identifies children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who have responded well enough to their first round of chemotherapy that they might be successfully treated with a much less aggressive follow-up treatment.

The new test could give hospitals with limited resources an affordable way to improve the outcomes of all treatments for many children by reducing chemotherapy side effects.

A report on this new technique appears in the online issue of Blood.

The test measures minimal residual disease (MRD), the small number of leukemic cells that survive after remission induction therapy. This measurement helps clinicians identify patients whose disease is highly responsive to chemotherapy and those who might be cured with milder and less toxic treatment.

The high cost and complexity of the more sophisticated MRD tests have been major obstacles to their use in countries with limited resources, according to the paper's senior author, Dario Campana, MD, PhD, Hematology-Oncology and Pathology, St. Jude.

St. Jude is implementing the new test at a partner institution in Brazil, according to the paper's co-author, Raul Ribeiro, MD, International Outreach Program director at St Jude. The pilot project in Recife, Brazil, aims to identify children who have MRD levels low enough that they can be treated with therapy that is less intense than the standard treatment. Previously, 10% of the children in Recife receiving standard therapy suffered fatal infections caused by the aggressive treatment, Ribeiro noted.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. It is based in Memphis, Tennessee.

This article was prepared by Clinical Oncology Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2006, Clinical Oncology Week via NewsRx.com.