Treatment Options for Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

A link to a list of current clinical trials is included for each treatment section. For some types or stages of cancer, there may not be any trials listed. Check with your doctor for clinical trials that are not listed here but may be right for you.

Newly Diagnosed 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 high-dose chemotherapy. Sometimes radiation therapy to the brain may be given.
• Combination chemotherapy followed by stem cell transplant using stem cells from a donor.
• A clinical trial of a new combination chemotherapy and intrathecal chemotherapy regimen given with or without radiation therapy. The chemotherapydose and/or schedule may vary depending on the patient's risk group after induction therapy.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials 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) may include the following:

• Combination chemotherapy. CNS sanctuary therapy with intrathecal chemotherapy and radiation therapy to the brain may also be given.
• A clinical trial studying a new anticancer drug, the doses of certain anticancer drugs, and the use of radiation therapy to the brain.

Standard treatment of infants with ALL may include the following:

• Combination chemotherapy. CNS sanctuary therapy with intrathecal chemotherapy may also be given
• Chemotherapy followed by a donorstem cell transplant has been studied but it is not known if this treatment improves survival.
• A clinical trial of chemotherapy followed by a donor stem cell transplant for infants with certain gene changes.
• A clinical trial of combination chemotherapy and targeted therapy with a tyrosine kinase inhibitor.

Standard treatment of ALL in older children and teenagers may include the following:

• Combination chemotherapy using stronger doses of anticancer drugs than those used for young children.
• A clinical trial of a new chemotherapy regimen.
• A clinical trial studying a new anticancer drug, the doses of certain anticancer drugs, and the use of radiation therapy to the brain.

Standard treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive childhood ALL may include the following:

• Combination chemotherapy followed by stem cell transplant using stem cells from a donor.
• Combination chemotherapy followed by targeted therapy with a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (imatinib mesylate).
• A clinical trial of combination chemotherapy and a new tyrosine kinase inhibitor.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials 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) for leukemia that comes back in the bone marrow may include the following:

• Combination chemotherapy.
• Chemotherapy with or without total-body irradiation followed by a stem cell transplant, using stem cells from a donor.

Standard treatment of recurrent childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) for leukemia that comes back outside the bone marrow may include the following:

• Chemotherapy and radiation therapy for cancer that comes back in the testicles only.
• Combination chemotherapy and intrathecal chemotherapy with radiation therapy to the brain and/or spinal cord for cancer that comes back in the brain and spinal cord only.

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

• New anticancer drugs and new combination chemotherapy treatments.
• Combination chemotherapy and new kinds of targeted therapies.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials 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.