Diagnosis and Treatment of Childhood Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Abstract

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) accounts for 15–20 % of the acute leukemias in children and 80 % of acute leukemia in adults [1, 2]. Significant advances as the result of multigroup cooperative trials have transformed this once uniformly fatal disease into one with a cure rate in children approaching 60 % [3], although the results are still significantly worse in adults. The difference in clinical outcome between childhood and adult AML is in part reflected by differences in the underlying biology. Recent advances in our understanding of stem cell physiology and the molecular basis of AML have elucidated the heterogeneity of AML and are leading to the identification of novel targets for therapy [4, 5]. The improvement in overall survival for children and young adults with AML can be attributed to better supportive care and advances in the application of chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation. Future advancements in the treatment of children with AML will likely come about from the use of targeted therapies in conjunction with current chemotherapy regimens.