Haematologists' approaches to the management of adolescents and young adults with acute leukaemia

Approaches to the management of adolescents and young adults with acute leu kaemia were investigated by sending a questionnaire to hospitals identified as having diagnosed or treated patients aged 15-29 years. The responses de monstrated the types of hospital treating these patients, the haematologist s' perceived practice for entry of patients to Medical Research Council (MR C) leukaemia trials and reasons for non-entry Data were linked to MRC trial s data to determine the proportion of patients aged 15-29 years at diagnosi s in responding hospitals actually treated in MRC leukaemia trials in the 5 years preceding the questionnaire, Eighty-two per cent of haematologists s tated that they entered patients 'always' or 'whenever possible' for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and 76% for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), bu t actual entry rates from the study hospitals were 46% of 239 AML patients and 36% of 182 ALL patients. The reasons most commonly reported for not ent ering eligible patients to national leukaemia trials were clinician prefere nce for one arm of an MRC trial, a regional study or non-trial protocol, an d concern about workload and ethical approval.