الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) accounts for over 75% of childhood leukaemias and is the most common childhood cancer. It is a complex malignant disease that affects haematopoietic cells of the bone marrow. As survival rates for the most prevalent types of childhood cancer have dramatically improved over the past three decades, the concept of “cure” has evolved to include optimizing the quality of life among survivors. Although significant progress has been made in addressing some adverse late effects of treatment that limit quality of life, such as endocrinopathies, other late effects remain problematic. Aggressive treatment protocols over years involving combination chemotherapy have greatly influenced improvements in survival of children with ALL. Treatment typically involves a sequence of stages: induction of remission, consolidation, and maintenance therapy. Prophylactic therapy is used to prevent central nervous system disease, involving intrathecal chemotherapy and possibly cranial radiation for children with high risk disease. In the case of disease relapse, children are inducted into remission again and bone marrow transplantation is offered.