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Updated: Dec 30, 2025

Modeling Chemotherapy Resistant Leukemia In Vitro
Published on: February 9, 2016
Involvement of the central nervous system in acute lymphoblastic leukemia: opinions on molecular mechanisms and
Lennart Lenk1, Ameera Alsadeq2, Denis M Schewe3
1Department of Pediatrics I, ALL-BFM Study Group, Christian-Albrechts University Kiel and University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany.
Abstract:
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common childhood cancer. One of the major clinical challenges is adequate diagnosis and treatment of central nervous system (CNS) involvement in this disease. Intriguingly, there is little solid evidence on the mechanisms sustaining CNS disease in ALL. Here, we present and discuss recent data on this topic, which are mainly derived from preclinical model systems. We thereby highlight sites and routes of leukemic CNS infiltration, cellular features promoting infiltration and survival of leukemic cells in a presumably hostile niche, and dormancy as a potential mechanism of survival and relapse in CNS leukemia. We also focus on the impact of ALL cytogenetic subtypes on features associated with a particular CNS tropism. Finally, we speculate on new perspectives in the treatment of ALL in the CNS, including ideas on the impact of novel immunotherapies.
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