Treatment for adult ALL depends on the type of disease, patient age and condition in general. The patient may receive treatment that is considered standard based on its effectiveness in previous studies or may choose to take part in a clinical trial. Not all patients are cured with standard therapy and some standard treatments may have more side effects than are desired.
For these reasons, clinical trials are designed to find better ways to treat cancer patients and are based on the latest information. They are conducting clinical trials in many countries for most stages of ALL.
Untreated
The treatment will probably be systemic chemotherapy. This could involve intrathecal chemotherapy alone or combined with either radiotherapy to the brain or high doses of systemic chemotherapy to treat or prevent the onset of leukemia in the brain.
Treatment also may include blood transfusions, antibiotics and instructions to keep body and teeth especially clean. New drugs are being evaluated in clinical trials.
