Acute leukemias in children

With combination chemotherapy approximately 50% of children with lymphoblastic leukemia survive for five or more years and it is now realistic to hope for a cure. Development of sophisticated cytochemical and immunological techniques have enabled us to recognize the factors that predispose to treatment failures. The survival in acute non-lymphocytic leukemia continues to be poor despite the introduction of several innovative treatment regimens. Current research is focused on the manipulation of the host-tumor immune response to eradicate the disease by treatment modalities such as immunotherapy and bone marrow transplantation. Since the treatment regimens are becoming more complex, the initial diagnosis and treatment is best carried out at centres specialized in the management of childhood malignancies.