Survival Outcome of Filipino Children With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Treated With Modified Berlin-Frankfurt-Muenster/Hong Kong Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (BFM95/HKALL97) Protocol in a Tertiary General Hospital From January 2005 to December 2009: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Abstract

This retrospective cohort study is primarily aimed to evaluate the outcome of children ages 0 to 18 years old, with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and treated with a modified Berlin-Frankfurt-Muenster/Hong Kong Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (BFM95-HKALL97) protocol at University of Santo Tomas Hospital from January 2005 to December 2009. Seventy-eight patients were included. Majority were between 1 and 10 years old (87.2%), male (61.5%), with normal nutritional status, and classified as upper socioeconomic class (65.3%), mainly from National Capital Region (24.3%). Eighty percent had mild anemia and a white cell count <50,000/mm. No patient had an initial platelet count <20,000/mm. More than 90% were standard risk, with FAB L1 morphology and pre-B immunophenotype. Five-year overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) rates were 86.94% and 86.2%, respectively. Among the 69 patients in the efficacy subset analysis, the 5-year OS and EFS rates were 98.36% and 86.80%, respectively. Relapse rate was 14.5%. Only FAB morphology and risk classification were correlated with relapse. Most common complications were febrile neutropenia, sepsis, and oral mucositis during induction phase. No deaths occurred due to treatment complications. In conclusion, using higher doses of methotrexate during consolidation phase improved the 5-year OS and EFS rates of our patients, without an increase in complications or deaths. Other contributing factors include improved adherence to treatment and risk-based treatment classification.