Is T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia still a high risk leukemia in children?

In a group of 21 children with T cell ALL we compared the clinical picture and laboratory finding in a subgroup of 13 patients with less mature (mCD3 negative) and a subgroup of 8 patients with mature (mCD3 positive) phenotypical type and the therapeutic response in relation to the stage of thymic differentiation of the blastic cells as well. We could not find any significant differences concerning the presence or absence of mediastinal thymic mass, organomegaly, WBC count, morphology of the blasts and their acid phosphatase and PAS reaction between cases with less mature and mature type of thymic differentiation. Concerning the therapeutic response, children with mature type of T-ALL have shown at 5 years significantly higher event free survival rate, in comparison with the group of patients with less mature type of T cells. Overall survival rate was also higher in the first group, but statistically not significant.