Curing children with leukemia in West Virginia

Leukemia is the most common cancer in childhood with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) the most common subtype. While once uniformly fatal, today leukemia is a highly curable disease. To determine the outcomes of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in West Virginia, we performed a retrospective analysis of the results of treatment of children and adolescents with B-lineage ALL diagnosed between 2/86 and 1/91 and treated by the pediatric oncology teams at Morgantown or Charleston. Forty-one children with B-lineage ALL were identified and treated by a uniform protocol. Twenty-nine (71%) have remained disease-free for more than two years off therapy and are considered cured. Of the 10 patients who relapsed, five have now been off rescue therapy for greater than two years and are likely to be cured. Thirty-five of the original cohort of 41 children are alive and disease-free yielding an overall survival of 85%. The results of treatment of childhood leukemia in West Virginia are comparable to national data. Children with ALL diagnosed and treated by pediatric oncology teams in West Virginia have a very good chance of being cured.