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[Acute leukemia in infants]
Insights
Infant acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) carries a high risk due to factors like early onset and treatment challenges. Despite achieving remission, both patients experienced recurrence and central nervous system leukemia, leading to fatal outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Oncology
- Hematology
- Leukemia Research
Background:
- Infant acute leukemias, including congenital and neonatal types, are characterized by unfavorable prognostic factors.
- These factors include infant age, hyperleukocytosis, organomegaly, and early central nervous system (CNS) leukemia onset.
- The prognosis is often poor due to treatment rejection, difficulty achieving remission, and short remission duration.
Observation:
- Two infant patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), both aged 4 months, were treated with current therapeutic methods.
- Both patients achieved initial hematologic remission.
- Recurrence and CNS leukemia manifested 5 months post-remission in both cases.
Findings:
- One patient died following recurrence and CNS leukemia.
- The second patient achieved a second remission after CNS leukemia treatment but succumbed to interstitial pneumonia.
Implications:
- This case series highlights the aggressive nature and poor prognosis of infant ALL, even with initial treatment success.
- The high risk of CNS leukemia recurrence underscores the need for effective CNS-directed therapies in this population.
- Further research into novel therapeutic strategies is crucial to improve outcomes for infants diagnosed with acute leukemia.
Abstract:
Acute leukemias in infants, including the congenital and neonatal leukemia, present a number of unfavourable features. Age of the infant, hyperleukocytosis, outstanding organomegaly, early onset of the CNS leukemia are some of the factors causing this group of acute leukemias of childhood to be those with highest risk. The poor prognosis of the illness is further worsened by frequent rejection of cytotoxic therapy, often failure in inducing remission and its shortness. Two patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, aged 4 months, are presented. Clinical the hematologic remission was achieved in both by the application of the current therapeutic methods. Recurrence and CNS leukemia appearing 5 months after the remission resulted in death of one patient. The second patient also developed CNS leukemia 5 months after remission. It was treated and another remission was achieved, but the child died due to interstitial pneumonia.