[Acute lymphoblastic leukemia in Burkitt cells: clinical, therapeutic and prognostic aspects]

This presentation reports on patients with 13 B - acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), treated with intensive chemotherapy. To date 5 patients are alive, in complete remission (greater than 24 months), 4 of them had CNS disease at diagnosis; 7 patients relapsed, 2 to 4 months after complete remission, 6 of them having CNS relapse, isolated or with bone marrow involvement. The improvement in prognosis of B-ALL results from intensive chemotherapy, but the prognosis remains poor because of early relapses, especially CNS relapses (survival rate is less than 50%). The authors propose new therapeutic approaches.