Global efforts toward the cure of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

Abstract

Improvements in risk-directed treatment and supportive care, together with increased reliance on both national and international collaborative studies, have made childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) one of the most curable human cancers. Next-generation sequencing studies of leukaemia cells and the host germline provide new opportunities for precision medicine and thus potential improvements in the cure rate and quality of life of patients. Efforts are underway to assess the global impact of childhood ALL and develop initiatives that can meet the long-term challenge of providing quality care to children with this disease worldwide and improving cure rates globally. This ambitious task will rely on increased collaborative research and international networking so that the therapeutic gains in high-income countries can be translated to patients in low-income and middle-income countries. Ultimately, the greatest obstacle to overcome will be to fully understand leukaemogenesis, enabling measures to decrease the risk of leukaemia development and thus close the last major gap in offering a cure to any child who might have the disease.

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of interests

The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Figures

Figure 1.. Global variation in the frequency of key genetic variants associated with ALL susceptibility and treatment toxicities.

Numbers in parentheses denote the percentage of individuals with the risk allele.