DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF CHILDHOOD ACUTE MYELOGENOUS LEUKEMIA

Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) accounts for about 20% of the acute l eukemias seen in children. In contrast to childhood acute lymphoblasti c leukemia (ALL), there has only been a modest improvement in the cure rate of children with AML during the past two decades. Approximately 40% of children treated with chemotherapy alone are long-term survivor s. The outcome is somewhat better for those children who are given bon e marrow transplants from histocompatible sibling donors early in the first remission. During the last decade, however, new insights into th e molecular basis of AML has increased our understanding of the pathog enesis and biology of this group of leukemias and are beginning to pro vide us with new therapeutic strategies.