Toxicity and efficacy of 6-thioguanine versus 6-mercaptopurine in childhood lymphoblastic leukaemia: a randomised trial. by Vora, A, Mitchell, C, Lennard, L, Eden, T, Kinsey, SE, Lilleyman, J, Richards, S

“…BACKGROUND: 6-mercaptopurine has been a standard component of long-term continuing treatment for childhood lymphoblastic leukaemia, whereas 6-thioguanine has been mainly used for intensification courses. …”

Oral methotrexate is as effective as intramuscular in maintenance therapy of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. by Chessells, J, Leiper, A, Tiedemann, K, Hardisty, R, Richards, S

“…One hundred and forty four children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia not of the T cell type were randomised to receive continuing treatment with daily 6-mercaptopurine, vincristine, and prednisolone six weekly and methotrexate once weekly, either as a single oral dose or an intramuscular injection. …”

Prognostic importance of myelosuppression during maintenance treatment of lymphoblastic leukaemia. Leukaemia in Childhood Working Party of the Medical Research Council. by Dolan, G, Lilleyman, J, Richards, S

“…Those receiving daily 6-mercaptopurine and weekly methotrexate who were in first remission 20 months from diagnosis were divided into two groups on the basis of whether or not they had ever had an absolute neutrophil count of less than 0.5 x 10(9)/l recorded during maintenance treatment up to that time. …”

The impact of risk stratification by early bone-marrow response in childhood lymphoblastic leukaemia: results from the United Kingdom Medical Research Council trial ALL97 and ALL97... by Mitchell, C, Payne, J, Wade, R, Vora, A, Kinsey, S, Richards, S, Eden, T

“…The 1997 acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) trial (ALL97) was a randomised comparison of prednisolone versus dexamethasone and of 6-mercaptopurine versus 6-thioguanine. During the first 2 years of the trial, review of survival data showed the preceding trial, UKALL XI, was no better than its predecessor and that survival for childhood ALL in the UK had not improved in the fashion witnessed by other cooperative treatment groups. …”

Analysis of thiopurine methyltransferase variant alleles in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. by McLeod, H, Coulthard, S, Thomas, A, Pritchard, S, King, D, Richards, S, Eden, O, Hall, A, Gibson, B

“…The role of 6-mercaptopurine (6MP) in the treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is well established. …”

Medical Research Council leukaemia trial--UKALL V: an attempt to reduce the immunosuppressive effects of therapy in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Report to the Council by... by Chessells, J, Durrant, J, Hardy, R, Richards, S

“…All 496 children were randomized to receive chemotherapy for 2 or 3 years with 6-mercaptopurine and methotrexate either as a continuous (group C) or a semicontinuous (group G) regimen or as a five-day pulse every 3 weeks (group I). …”