CURRENT MANAGEMENT OF ADULT ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKAEMIA: EMERGING INSIGHTS AND OUTSTANDING QUESTIONS

Less than 50% of patients with adult acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) experience long-term survival and for those adults >60 years old, long-term survival rates are only 10%. However, significant advances have been reported over the last decade. Both the efficacy of chemotherapy and the safety...

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Main Authors: Xavier Thomas, Caroline Le Jeune
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: European Medical Journal 2016-07-01
Series:European Medical Journal Hematology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.emjreviews.com/hematology/article/current-management-of-adult-acute-lymphoblastic-leukaemia-emerging-insights-and-outstanding-questions/
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author Xavier Thomas
Caroline Le Jeune
author_facet Xavier Thomas
Caroline Le Jeune
author_sort Xavier Thomas
collection DOAJ
description Less than 50% of patients with adult acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) experience long-term survival and for those adults >60 years old, long-term survival rates are only 10%. However, significant advances have been reported over the last decade. Both the efficacy of chemotherapy and the safety of transplants have improved. Improved outcomes have been seen in younger adults treated with paediatric-inspired chemotherapy regimens. Minimal residual disease has been identified as an independent predictor of relapse risk and is currently widely used for risk-adapted treatment. Newly developed targeted therapies have been developed to improve treatment outcomes. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) have become an integral part of front-line therapy for Philadelphia (Ph) chromosome positive ALL. Ph-positive ALL serves as the first example of truly targeted treatment, although the choice of the most effective TKI is not yet settled. The last few years have also seen a surge in immune therapies for B cell lineage ALL. The success of the anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody rituximab provided proof-of-principle for exploiting the immune system therapeutically. Novel immune therapies recruit (bispecific T cell engager) or modify (chimeric antigen receptor T cells) the patient’s own T cells to fight leukaemic cells. These new approaches led us to predict that ALL therapy might be based heavily on non-chemotherapeutic approaches in the near future. The role of allogeneic stem cell transplantation is also increasingly called into question. Herein, we review the background and development of these distinct treatments, and assess the current clinical knowledge of their efficacy and safety.
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spelling doaj.art-b960e65ae32546589e1ae085abfd4ab62022-12-21T21:30:32ZengEuropean Medical JournalEuropean Medical Journal Hematology2053-66312016-07-0141117128CURRENT MANAGEMENT OF ADULT ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKAEMIA: EMERGING INSIGHTS AND OUTSTANDING QUESTIONSXavier Thomas0Caroline Le Jeune1Hematology Department, Centre Hospitalier Lyon Sud, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Pierre Bénite, FranceHematology Department, Centre Hospitalier Lyon Sud, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Pierre Bénite, FranceLess than 50% of patients with adult acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) experience long-term survival and for those adults >60 years old, long-term survival rates are only 10%. However, significant advances have been reported over the last decade. Both the efficacy of chemotherapy and the safety of transplants have improved. Improved outcomes have been seen in younger adults treated with paediatric-inspired chemotherapy regimens. Minimal residual disease has been identified as an independent predictor of relapse risk and is currently widely used for risk-adapted treatment. Newly developed targeted therapies have been developed to improve treatment outcomes. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) have become an integral part of front-line therapy for Philadelphia (Ph) chromosome positive ALL. Ph-positive ALL serves as the first example of truly targeted treatment, although the choice of the most effective TKI is not yet settled. The last few years have also seen a surge in immune therapies for B cell lineage ALL. The success of the anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody rituximab provided proof-of-principle for exploiting the immune system therapeutically. Novel immune therapies recruit (bispecific T cell engager) or modify (chimeric antigen receptor T cells) the patient’s own T cells to fight leukaemic cells. These new approaches led us to predict that ALL therapy might be based heavily on non-chemotherapeutic approaches in the near future. The role of allogeneic stem cell transplantation is also increasingly called into question. Herein, we review the background and development of these distinct treatments, and assess the current clinical knowledge of their efficacy and safety.https://www.emjreviews.com/hematology/article/current-management-of-adult-acute-lymphoblastic-leukaemia-emerging-insights-and-outstanding-questions/acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (all)treatmenttargeted therapyallogeneic stem cell transplantation (sct)prognosis
spellingShingle Xavier Thomas
Caroline Le Jeune
CURRENT MANAGEMENT OF ADULT ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKAEMIA: EMERGING INSIGHTS AND OUTSTANDING QUESTIONS
European Medical Journal Hematology
acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (all)
treatment
targeted therapy
allogeneic stem cell transplantation (sct)
prognosis
title CURRENT MANAGEMENT OF ADULT ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKAEMIA: EMERGING INSIGHTS AND OUTSTANDING QUESTIONS
title_full CURRENT MANAGEMENT OF ADULT ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKAEMIA: EMERGING INSIGHTS AND OUTSTANDING QUESTIONS
title_fullStr CURRENT MANAGEMENT OF ADULT ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKAEMIA: EMERGING INSIGHTS AND OUTSTANDING QUESTIONS
title_full_unstemmed CURRENT MANAGEMENT OF ADULT ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKAEMIA: EMERGING INSIGHTS AND OUTSTANDING QUESTIONS
title_short CURRENT MANAGEMENT OF ADULT ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKAEMIA: EMERGING INSIGHTS AND OUTSTANDING QUESTIONS
title_sort current management of adult acute lymphoblastic leukaemia emerging insights and outstanding questions
topic acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (all)
treatment
targeted therapy
allogeneic stem cell transplantation (sct)
prognosis
url https://www.emjreviews.com/hematology/article/current-management-of-adult-acute-lymphoblastic-leukaemia-emerging-insights-and-outstanding-questions/
work_keys_str_mv AT xavierthomas currentmanagementofadultacutelymphoblasticleukaemiaemerginginsightsandoutstandingquestions
AT carolinelejeune currentmanagementofadultacutelymphoblasticleukaemiaemerginginsightsandoutstandingquestions