Adult acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: a five-year experience

The case histories of all patients for whom the diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) was made over a five-year period at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science were studied. There were 34 patients with a median age of 47.5 years. Adequate follow-up was obtained on 33 patients, and their median survival was 5.4 months. The remission rate was 77% in the under-30 years age group, but only 15% in the over-30 years age group. The median duration of remission was 24 months while the median survival of remitters has not yet been reached. The median survival of non-remitters was two months with 100% being dead at 12-3 months. Of 20 patients without remission, seven died of haemorrhage and/or infection before an adequate trial of therapy had been completed, while nine patients had "adequate" intensive therapy but failed to achieve remission.