Pediatric Regime of Chemotherapy Proves More Effective for Young
Adults Monday, June 18, 2012 Leukemia patients 16 to 39 have
higher long-term survival rates, finds TAU researcher Acute
lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), usually found in pediatric
patients, is far more rare and deadly in adolescent and adult
patients. According to the National Marrow Donor Program, child
ALL patients have a higher than 80 percent remission rate, while
the recovery rate for adults stands at only 40 percent. In
current practice, pediatric and young adult ALL patients undergo
different treatment regimes. Children aged 0-15 years are
typically given more aggressive chemotherapy, while young
adults, defined as people between 16 and 39 years of age, are
treated with a round of chemotherapy followed by a bone marrow
transplant. But a new study has revealed that it may be time to
rethink this strategy, says Dr. Ron Ram of Tel Aviv University's
Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Davidoff Cancer Center at
the Rabin Medical Center. Dr. Ram