International Collaborative Treatment Protocol for Infants Under One Year With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

OBJECTIVES:

• Determine the outcome of induction chemotherapy followed by consolidation and reinduction chemotherapy with or without late intensification chemotherapy followed by a maintenance regimen or allogeneic bone marrow transplantation in infants with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
• Determine the value of a late intensification course between reinduction and maintenance therapy in these patients.
• Determine the prognostic value of age, immunophenotype, WBC, day 15 bone marrow status, and MLL gene rearrangement in patients treated with these regimens.

OUTLINE: This is a partially randomized, multicenter study. Patients are stratified according to risk (high vs standard).

Patients receive induction therapy comprising prednisone orally or IV three times a day on days 1-7; dexamethasone orally or IV three times a day on days 8-35; vincristine IV on days 8, 16, 22, and 30; cytarabine IV over 30 minutes on days 8-21; daunorubicin IV over 60 minutes on days 8 and 9; asparaginase IV over 1 hour or intramuscularly (IM) on days 15, 18, 22, 25, 29, and 33; methotrexate intrathecally (IT) on days 1 and 29; and cytarabine IT on day 15. Patients receive prednisolone IT in combination with any dose of intrathecal chemotherapy. Patients with CNS involvement receive additional doses of methotrexate IT on days 8 and 22 and then weekly after day 29 until there is no evidence of CNS leukemia.

After achieving complete remission, patients receive MARAM chemotherapy comprising oral mercaptopurine daily on days 1-14; methotrexate IV over 24 hours on days 1 and 8; leucovorin calcium orally or IV 36, 42, and 48 hours after beginning each dose of oral methotrexate; methotrexate IT on days 2 and 9; cytarabine IV over 3 hours twice daily on days 15, 16, 22, and 23; and asparaginase IV over 1 hour or IM on days 16 and 23. Patients receive prednisolone IT in combination with any dose of intrathecal methotrexate.