Treatment of children with acute myelogenous leukemia
(AML)
Treatment of most children with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) is divided into 2
phases of chemotherapy:
· Induction
· Consolidation (intensification)
Compared to treatment for ALL, the treatment for AML generally uses higher doses of
chemotherapy but for a shorter time. Because of the intensity of treatment and the risk of
serious complications, children with AML need to be treated in cancer centers or
hospitals that have experience with this disease.
Treatment of the M3 subtype of AML (known as acute promyelocytic leukemia, or APL)
is slightly different, and is described in the next section.
Induction
Treatment for AML uses different combinations of chemo drugs than those used for
ALL. The drugs most often used are daunorubicin (daunomycin) and cytarabine (ara-C),
which are each given for several days in a row. The schedule of treatment may be
repeated in 10 days or 2 weeks, depending on how intense doctors want the treatment to
be. A shorter time between treatments can be more effective in killing leukemia cells, but
it can also cause more severe side effects.
If the doctors think that the leukemia might not respond to just 2 drugs alone, they may
add etoposide and/or 6-thioguanine. Children with very high numbers of white blood
cells or whose leukemia has certain chromosome abnormalities may fall into this group.
Treatment with these drugs is repeated until the bone marrow shows no more leukemia.
This usually occurs after 2 or 3 cycles of treatment.
Preventing relapse in the central nervous system: Most children with AML will also
get intrathecal chemotherapy (given directly into the cerebrospinal fluid, or CSF) to help
prevent leukemia from relapsing in the brain or spinal cord. Radiation therapy to the
brain is used less often.
Consolidation (intensification)
About 85% to 90% of children with AML go into remission after induction therapy. This
means no signs of leukemia are detected using standard lab tests, but it does not
necessarily mean that the leukemia has been cured.
Consolidation (intensification) begins after the induction phase. The purpose is to kill any
remaining leukemia cells by using more intensive treatment.
Some children have a brother or sister who would be a good stem cell donor. For these
children, a stem cell transplant is often recommended once the leukemia is in remission,
especially if the AML has some poorer prognostic factors. Most studies have found this
improves the chance for long-term survival over chemotherapy alone, but it is also more
likely to cause serious complications. For children with good prognostic factors, some
doctors may recommend just giving intensive chemotherapy, and reserving the stem cell
transplant in case the AML relapses.
For most children without a good stem cell donor, consolidation consists of the
chemotherapy drug cytarabine (ara-C) in high doses. Daunorubicin may also be added. It
is usually given for at least several months.
Intrathecal chemotherapy (into the cerebrospinal fluid) is usually given every 1 to 2
months for as long as intensification continues.
Maintenance chemotherapy is not needed for children with AML (other than those with
APL, as described in the next section).
An important part of treatment for AML is supportive care (proper nursing care,
nutritional support, antibiotics, and blood transfusions). The intense treatment needed for
AML usually destroys much of the bone marrow (causing severe shortages of blood
cells) and can cause other serious complications. Without antibiotic treatment of
infections or transfusion support, the current high remission rates would not be possible.