[Second cessation of therapy in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia]

In the group of 63 children in whom a relapse of ALL after first suspension of treatment occurred, and in whom a repeated cessation of therapy had place, 46.2% of patients had probability of a prolonged symptomless survival. The children with an isolated extramedullary relapse had a greater chance for a DFS of 7 years, than those with a relapse in the bone marrow (p = 0.05). The patients with a relapse occurring after the first cessation of treatment of ALL should be treated as intensively as newly diagnosed cases, because they have a real possibility for a prolonged survival during remission phase of disease.