Secondary glioma following acute lymphocytic leukemia: therapeutic implications

We conducted a comprehensive review of the literature to characterize the etiology of secondary glioma following acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) patients. The analysis included 98 cases with an average age of onset of ALL of 5.9 years (range 1.5 to 26). The average latency period was 7.8 years until diagnosis of secondary glioma. Radiation therapy was administered in 92 cases for the primary malignancy at an average dose of 20.7 Gy. The median survival time of patients treated with multimodality treatment for secondary glioma was 23 months (95 % confidence interval 12-27 months), and multimodality therapy improved survival time significantly (p = 0.0029). The exact cause for the development of glioma following ALL is not clear. The risk of a secondary glioma in childhood cancer survivors may be influenced by genetic and other predisposing factors as well as by treatment type. In patients diagnosed with ALL, the risk of secondary glioma warrants a longer follow-up period that continues long after the risk of relapse of the primary malignancy has passed. Moreover, multimodality therapy should be considered in cases of secondary glioma following ALL.