Treatment for Pediatric Leukemia

Leukemia is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in children, according to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. In children with leukemia, immature blood cells begin to outnumber healthy, mature blood cells. The immature cells don't function normally and various symptoms develop, such as recurrent infections and anemia. Treatment is available and involves treating symptoms such as infections and also destroying the immature, cancerous cells.

Facts

• Treatment for pediatric leukemia may depend on the child's age, stage of disease and type of leukemia. There are two main types of leukemia diagnosed in children, according to the American Cancer Society. The most common type diagnosed in pediatric patients is acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). The blood cells which help fight infection, called the lymphocytes, are affected.

  Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) is the other type of leukemia diagnosed in children. Granulocytes are a type of while blood cell. An overproduction of immature granulocytes are produced in the bone marrow with AML.

Types

• Chemotherapy is often used to treat pediatric leukemia. Chemotherapy may include various combinations of medications. It may be given orally, through an injection under the skin or administered intravenously. Intrathecal chemotherapy is delivered directly into the spinal fluid. According to Children's Hospital of St Louis, treatment may also include radiation therapy, antibiotics to treat infections and possibly blood transfusions.

Stages

• The treatment protocol for pediatric leukemia is often broken up into three stages. The first stage is induction. The goal of this phase of treatment is to stop the abnormal cells from being produced. Less than 5 percent leukemia cells in the bone marrow is considered remission. According to Children's Hospital of St Louis, this stage often takes a month.

  The second phase is called intensification or consolidation. Leukemia cells may still be present, although they may not be visible in blood work. Maintenance is the third phase and may take up to a few years to complete. The marrow is leukemia free. However, chemotherapy is still given to prevent abnormal cells from returning.

Side Effects

• Side effects form leukemia treatment for children can involve short- and long-term side effects. Short term side effects from chemotherapy include nausea, hair loss, fatigue and infections. According to the American Cancer Society, children may also experience long-term effects, such as damage to the heart or lungs, fertility problems and reduced growth. There is also a risk of a secondary cancer developing later in life, such as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Considerations

• During any phase in leukemia treatment a child may relapse. This means leukemia cells are being produced again in the marrow. According to the Ped-Onc Resource Center, although treatment may be more difficult, options are usually still available. A bone marrow transplant is often performed. High doses of chemotherapy are given, followed by radiation therapy to destroy the cancer cells in the marrow. Healthy marrow is then transplanted, often from a matching donor.