Treatment of acute lymphocytic leukemia in Uganda

The hematologic remission rate of 17 black Ugandan children with acute lymphocytic leukemia treated with prednisone and vincristine was 41%. There was no correlation of the remission rate with any clinical or laboratory finding at the time of diagnosis. The frequency of remission approximated that of similarly treated black American children but was significantly less than that achieved in white children. Whether this poor response to therapy, as compared to the response of white children, represents genetic, environmental or socioeconomic factors is discussed.