New approach to B-ALL treatment reduces side effects and enhances survival

An enhanced criteria for risk assessment 

"We strive to be mindful of using only the necessary treatments to achieve a cure, aiming to minimize the risk of enduring health issues and side effects from a child's cancer treatment," explained first author Katelyn Purvis, MD, St. Jude Department of Oncology.

Reduced-intensity treatments yield positive outcomes

Patients who would have otherwise been treated with high-risk therapy experienced fewer side effects, such as thrombosis and pancreatitis. The findings suggest that by using genome- and early treatment response-guided risk classification, clinicians and researchers can accurately identify patients who are likely to benefit from less intensive treatment.

Authors and funding

The study was supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute (Cancer Center Support

Source:

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Journal reference:

Purvis, K., et al. (2024) Outcomes in patients with ETV6::RUNX1 or high-hyperdiploid B-ALL treated in the St. Jude Total Therapy XV/XVI studies. Blood. doi.org/10.1182/blood.2024024936.