U of M Study Finds Children with Leukemia Living Longer
Comprehensive study follows survivors who were diagnosed and treated for AML as children and young adults.
More than 90 percent of children and young adults who survive acute myeloid leukemia (AML) lead productive lives 20 years later, according to a University of Minnesota study. This study is the largest, most comprehensive AML survivor study. The study analyzes 20 years of follow-up on survivors diagnosed and treated for AML as children and young adults.
"The favorable survival rates indicate the tremendous progress that has been made in the diagnosis and treatment of AML in children and young adults," says Daniel Mulrooney, M.D., a pediatric oncologist and researcher at the University of Minnesota Medical School and Cancer Center who led the research team.
Research Advances Have Resulted in Better Treatments and Improved Survival Rates
Leukemias are the most common cancer affecting children and young adults. AML, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow, accounts for about 25 percent of all childhood leukemias. Significant research advances at the University of Minnesota and other cancer centers over the past 30 years have resulted in better treatments and dramatically improved survival rates. The University of Minnesota study is the first to analyze, over the long term, the survival, medical late effects, marriage, education, and employment rates of AML survivors compared to a control group of their siblings.
On a cautionary note, the study reports that survivors need to be regularly evaluated and treated for health problems that may occur later in life as a result of their initial cancer. "It is crucial that these survivors continue to be evaluated in a long-term, follow-up clinic where a physician familiar with the unique issues of cancer survivors can review their previous treatment and screen for late effects of that treatment," Mulrooney said.
94 Percent of AML Survivors Are Alive 20 Years After Treatment
The study evaluated 272 AML survivors enrolled in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS).
Among survivors:
- 97 percent were living 10 years after their treatment for AML.
- 94 percent were living 20 years later.
- 6 survivors reported recurrences of AML.
- 2 survivors died from the disease; one from congestive heart failure, and one from a heart attack.
- The rate of AML recurrence was 1.8 percent at 10 years and 3.7 percent at 20 years.
As for their social, educational, and employment outcomes, the study found:
- 57 percent of survivors 25 years of age and older were married, compared to 67 percent of siblings and 57 percent of the general U.S. population.
- 40 percent graduated from college, compared to 52 percent of siblings and 34 percent of the general U.S. population.
- 93 percent were employed, compared to 98 percent of siblings.
- 92 percent had health insurance, compared to 89 percent of siblings.
Mulrooney is a medical director of the University’s Long-Term Follow-Up Clinic. He worked with these colleagues to conduct this study: Douglas C. Dover, MSc., Suwen Li, M.S., and Yutaka Yasui, Ph.D., University of Alberta in Canada; Kirsten Ness, Ph.D., Ann Mertens, Ph.D., and Joseph Neglia, M.D., University of Minnesota in Minneapolis; Charles A. Sklar, M.D., Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York; Leslie L. Robison, Ph.D., St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tenn; and Stella Davies, M.D., Ph.D., Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio.
This study was funded by the National Cancer Institute, The American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities (ALSAC) support to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and The Children’s Cancer Research Fund support to the University of Minnesota Cancer Center.