PURPOSE: To evaluate the incidence of and potential risk factors for second malignant neoplasms of the brain following treatment for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study population consisted of 1,612 consecutively enrolled protocol patients treated on sequential institutional protocols for newly diagnosed ALL at St Jude Children's Research Hospital (SJCRH) between 1967 and 1988. The median follow-up duration is 15.9 years (range, 5.5 to 29.9 y). RESULTS: The cumulative incidence of brain tumors at 20 years is 1.39% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.63% to 2.15%). Twenty-two brain tumors (10 high-grade gliomas, one low-grade glioma, and 11 meningiomas) were diagnosed among 21 patients after a median latency of 12.6 years (high-grade gliomas, 9.1 years; meningiomas, 19 years). Tumor type was linked to outcome, with patients who developed high-grade tumors doing poorly and those who developed low-grade tumors doing well. Risk factors for developing any secondary brain tumor included the presence of CNS leukemia at diagnosis, treatment on Total X therapy, and the use of cranial irradiation, which was dose-dependent. Age less than 6 years was associated with an increased risk of developing a high-grade glioma. CONCLUSION: This single-institution study, with a high rate of long-term data capture, demonstrated that brain tumors are a rare, late complication of therapy for ALL. We report many more low-grade tumors than others probably because of exhaustive long-term follow-up evaluation. The importance of limiting cranial radiation is underscored by the dose-dependent tumorigenic effect of radiation therapy seen in this study.
PURPOSE: To evaluate the incidence of and potential risk factors for second malignant neoplasms of the brain following treatment for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study population consisted of 1,612 consecutively enrolled protocol patients treated on sequential institutional protocols for newly diagnosed ALL at St Jude Children's Research Hospital (SJCRH) between 1967 and 1988. The median follow-up duration is 15.9 years (range, 5.5 to 29.9 y). RESULTS: The cumulative incidence of brain tumors at 20 years is 1.39% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.63% to 2.15%). Twenty-two brain tumors (10 high-grade gliomas, one low-grade glioma, and 11 meningiomas) were diagnosed among 21 patients after a median latency of 12.6 years (high-grade gliomas, 9.1 years; meningiomas, 19 years). Tumor type was linked to outcome, with patients who developed high-grade tumors doing poorly and those who developed low-grade tumors doing well. Risk factors for developing any secondary brain tumor included the presence of CNS leukemia at diagnosis, treatment on Total X therapy, and the use of cranial irradiation, which was dose-dependent. Age less than 6 years was associated with an increased risk of developing a high-grade glioma. CONCLUSION: This single-institution study, with a high rate of long-term data capture, demonstrated that brain tumors are a rare, late complication of therapy for ALL. We report many more low-grade tumors than others probably because of exhaustive long-term follow-up evaluation. The importance of limiting cranial radiation is underscored by the dose-dependent tumorigenic effect of radiation therapy seen in this study.
Authors: Aliki J Taylor; Mark P Little; David L Winter; Elaine Sugden; David W Ellison; Charles A Stiller; Marilyn Stovall; Clare Frobisher; Emma R Lancashire; Raoul C Reulen; Michael M Hawkins Journal: J Clin Oncol Date: 2010-11-15 Impact factor: 44.544
Authors: Lois B Travis; Andrea K Ng; James M Allan; Ching-Hon Pui; Ann R Kennedy; X George Xu; James A Purdy; Kimberly Applegate; Joachim Yahalom; Louis S Constine; Ethel S Gilbert; John D Boice Journal: J Natl Cancer Inst Date: 2012-02-06 Impact factor: 13.506
Authors: Barbara S Paugh; Chunxu Qu; Chris Jones; Zhaoli Liu; Martyna Adamowicz-Brice; Junyuan Zhang; Dorine A Bax; Beth Coyle; Jennifer Barrow; Darren Hargrave; James Lowe; Amar Gajjar; Wei Zhao; Alberto Broniscer; David W Ellison; Richard G Grundy; Suzanne J Baker Journal: J Clin Oncol Date: 2010-05-17 Impact factor: 44.544
Authors: Melissa L Bondy; Michael E Scheurer; Beatrice Malmer; Jill S Barnholtz-Sloan; Faith G Davis; Dora Il'yasova; Carol Kruchko; Bridget J McCarthy; Preetha Rajaraman; Judith A Schwartzbaum; Siegal Sadetzki; Brigitte Schlehofer; Tarik Tihan; Joseph L Wiemels; Margaret Wrensch; Patricia A Buffler Journal: Cancer Date: 2008-10-01 Impact factor: 6.860