Recent trends and concepts in the management of leukaemia

Abstract

Currently the treatment for Acute Leukaemia, which consists of Acute Myeloblastic Leukaemia (AML) and Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL), consists of the preventive and the definitive aspects of therapy. Recent trends that have been elucidated involve aspects of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, stem cell transplant, and the supportive aspect. For the treatment of ALL, the modern trend involves three main aspects, namely the Induction of remission (less than 2% of blasts in the bone marrow, and absence of blasts in the bloodfilm), consolidation of remission, and the maintenance of remission.The standard drugs used for the induction of remission are vincristine, prednisolone, an antracycline for adults and L-Asparaginase for children. These drugs are used in combination for induction of remission, based on the knowledge of the cell cycle.The recent concepts as regards chemotherapy, involve modifications to both induction and consolidation of remission for ALL and AML.

Keywords: RECENT, TRENDS, CURRENT CONCEPTS, LEUKAEMIA