Treatment of acute leukemia in children and adults.

Abstract

Acute leukemia was treated in 46 children and 29 adults by five different therapeutic regimens. The largest group, consisting of 55 patients, received steroids (cortisone or prednisone) with 6-mercaptopurine; 9 received 6-mercaptopurine only, 5 received steroids only, and 6 received other forms of treatment. The remission rate for all the children treated was 77%; some went on to a second remission, and one went to a third. The rate of remissions for adults was only 17%, and there were no second remissions in any of the adult patients. The data on survival times proved difficult to compare. The duration of life was nearly the same in each group, as was the duration of therapy needed to induce remission. The duration of remission appeared to be longest in those patients who received a combination of 6-mercaptopurine and steroids, but the limited size of the other groups made comparison difficult. The steroid treatment caused a noticeable weight gain and some other undesired effects but no electrolyte imbalance, hypertension, or peptic ulcer. The undesired effect of 6-mercaptopurine was occasional, sudden, excessive leukopenia. The 50% survival time in the group who received 6-mercaptopurine was 9 months, and the 10% survival time was 19 months.