Acute lymphocytic leukemia in children.

An overview is presented of the improvements in the prognosis of acute lymphocytic leukemia due to combined modality therapy. With the best available regimens, approximately 50% of these children have remained leukemia-free for 5 years or more. Because of these results, there is growing concern for the quality of survival and for the side effects of therapy. A case in point is a completely unexpected side effect in a current study. Nonleukemic leukoencephalopathy has developed in 8 of 20 children given intravenous methotrexate, 50-80 mg/m2 per week, as the sole agent following remission induction and CNS therapy. Thus, with longer remissions and survivals now commonly observed, a concerted effort is needed to minimize side effects while trying to improve further the efficacy of therapy.