New types of treatment are being tested in clinical trials.

This summary section describes treatments that are being studied in clinical trials. It may not mention every new treatment being studied. Information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.

High-dose chemotherapy

High-dose chemotherapy is giving high doses of anticancer drugs to kill cancer cells. This treatment often causes the bone marrow to stop making blood cells and can cause other serious side effects. High-dose chemotherapy is usually followed by stem cell transplant to restore the bone marrow. Clinical trials are studying high-dose chemotherapy for certain patients, including children whose ALL does not go into remission after induction therapy.

Other drug therapy

Imatinib mesylate (Gleevec) is a type of anticancer drug called a tyrosine kinase inhibitor. It blocks the enzyme, tyrosine kinase, that causes stem cells to develop into more white blood cells (granulocytes or blasts) than the body needs.


Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial.

For some patients, taking part in a clinical trial may be the best treatment choice. Clinical trials are part of the cancer research process. Clinical trials are done to find out if new cancer treatments are safe and effective or better than the standard treatment.

Many of today's standard treatments for cancer are based on earlier clinical trials. Patients who take part in a clinical trial may receive the standard treatment or be among the first to receive a new treatment.

Patients who take part in clinical trials also help improve the way cancer will be treated in the future. Even when clinical trials do not lead to effective new treatments, they often answer important questions and help move research forward.


Patients can enter clinical trials before, during, or after starting their cancer treatment.

Some clinical trials only include patients who have not yet received treatment. Other trials test treatments for patients whose cancer has not gotten better. There are also clinical trials that test new ways to stop cancer from recurring (coming back) or reduce the side effects of cancer treatment.

Clinical trials are taking place in many parts of the country. See the Treatment Options section that follows for links to current treatment clinical trials. These have been retrieved from NCI's listing of clinical trials.


Follow-up tests may be needed.

Some of the tests that were done to diagnose the cancer or to find out the stage of the cancer may be repeated. Some tests will be repeated in order to see how well the treatment is working. Decisions about whether to continue, change, or stop treatment may be based on the results of these tests. This is sometimes called re-staging.

Some of the tests will continue to be done from time to time after treatment has ended. The results of these tests can show if your condition has changed or if the cancer has recurred (come back). These tests are sometimes called follow-up tests or check-ups.


Untreated Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Standard treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) during the induction, consolidation /intensification, and maintenance phases may include the following:

• Combination chemotherapy.
• CNS sanctuary therapy with intrathecal chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy to the brain.

Some of the treatments being studied in clinical trials for childhood ALL include the following:

• Combination chemotherapy with or without intrathecal chemotherapy. Radiation therapy to brain may also be given.
• Combination chemotherapy followed by stem cell transplant using stem cells donated by a brother or sister.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry that are now accepting patients with untreated childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.


Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Subgroups

Standard treatment of T-cell childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is usually combination chemotherapy. CNS sanctuary therapy with intrathecal chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy to the brain may also be given. One of the treatments being studied in clinical trials for T-cell childhood ALL is a new kind of anticancer drug.

Treatment of infants with ALL is usually a clinical trial of systemic chemotherapy with intrathecal chemotherapy or chemotherapy followed by a donor stem cell transplant.

Treatment of ALL in older children and adolescents usually involves more aggressive therapy (stronger treatments and higher doses) than that given to children aged 1-9 years.

Standard treatment of Philadelphia chromosome -positive childhood ALL is usually a stem cell transplant using stem cells donated by a brother or sister. One of the treatments being studied in clinical trials for Philadelphia chromosome-positive childhood ALL is imatinib mesylate (Gleevec).

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry that are now accepting patients with T-cell childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia and Philadelphia chromosome positive childhood precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.


Recurrent Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Standard treatment of recurrent childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) may include the following:

• Combination chemotherapy.
• Systemic chemotherapy and intrathecal chemotherapy with or without radiation therapy to the brain and spinal cord.
• Chemotherapy with stem cell transplant, using stem cells from a donor who is related to the patient, with or without total-body irradiation.
• Chemotherapy plus radiation therapy for cancer that recurs in the testicles only.

Some of the treatments being studied in clinical trials for recurrent childhood ALL include the following:

• A clinical trial of chemotherapy with stem cell transplant, using stem cells from a donor who is not related to the patient, with or without total-body irradiation.
• A clinical trial of new anticancer drugs and new combination chemotherapy treatments.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry that are now accepting patients with recurrent childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.



Medications used to help treat Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia:

• Gleevec (Imatinib Mesylate)

Last updated: May 27th, 2010
Source: The Web site of the National Cancer Institute (http://www.cancer.gov)