NCKU Dr. Chien-Hsu Chen, Speaker of “Twenty Years Looking Back on Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia”
Tainan, Taiwan, March 3rd, 2010
Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia is the most common cancer found in children. Each year, there are approximately 120 to 150 new cases diagnosed in children under 18 years old. Since its establishment in 1988, National Cheng Kung University has diagnosed a total of 259 Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia patients in the past 21 years. In recent years, there have been about 15 new cases annually. The hospital has also undergone the three treatment eras of Taiwan Pediatric Oncology Group (TPOG) in the last two decades.
According to the incident rate, the male and female ratio is about 1 to 1 (136/123). The difference in seasons does not affect incidence. The age distribution based on preschool age, from 2 to 4 years of age, and occupied 36%. Among the 259 cases, 19 are not treated in the NCKU Hospital. Before the onset of the National Health Insurance (NHI), the treatment rate in the hospital is 79.1%, and the treatment rate after the NHI implementation is 97.4%. According to the American report, through continuous efforts, the survival rate of 20% in the 60s has increased to almost 90%. This is a huge improvement in the aspect of cancer treatment.
Looking back to our achievements in the past twenty years, the survival rate of recurrent diseases has improved from 48.9% in 1988 to 78.1%. More specifically, the survival rate of the standard-child group has improved from the earliest 51.3% to the recent 83.3, the survival rate of the high-risk group has also improved from 40.0% to 84.6%, and the survival rate of the highest-risk group has improved from 55.7% to 58.2% as well. Moreover, with the progress in adjuvant therapy in recent years, such as antiemetic drugs and infection control, the uncomfortable treatment process of children has been relieved.
Furthermore, since 2000, we have introduced flow cytometry equipments to detect minimal residual cancer cells and to accurately assess the reaction of disease fighting against cancer drug during treatment. The immediate correction of the treatment method is one of the reasons for the increased successful treatment rate. In summary, the most common cancer found in children, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, after decades of efforts, with early diagnosis and modern medicine, has become a highly treatable disease.
Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia is the most common cancer found in children. Each year, there are approximately 120 to 150 new cases diagnosed in children under 18 years old. Since its establishment in 1988, National Cheng Kung University has diagnosed a total of 259 Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia patients in the past 21 years. In recent years, there have been about 15 new cases annually. The hospital has also undergone the three treatment eras of Taiwan Pediatric Oncology Group (TPOG) in the last two decades.
According to the incident rate, the male and female ratio is about 1 to 1 (136/123). The difference in seasons does not affect incidence. The age distribution based on preschool age, from 2 to 4 years of age, and occupied 36%. Among the 259 cases, 19 are not treated in the NCKU Hospital. Before the onset of the National Health Insurance (NHI), the treatment rate in the hospital is 79.1%, and the treatment rate after the NHI implementation is 97.4%. According to the American report, through continuous efforts, the survival rate of 20% in the 60s has increased to almost 90%. This is a huge improvement in the aspect of cancer treatment.
Looking back to our achievements in the past twenty years, the survival rate of recurrent diseases has improved from 48.9% in 1988 to 78.1%. More specifically, the survival rate of the standard-child group has improved from the earliest 51.3% to the recent 83.3, the survival rate of the high-risk group has also improved from 40.0% to 84.6%, and the survival rate of the highest-risk group has improved from 55.7% to 58.2% as well. Moreover, with the progress in adjuvant therapy in recent years, such as antiemetic drugs and infection control, the uncomfortable treatment process of children has been relieved.
Furthermore, since 2000, we have introduced flow cytometry equipments to detect minimal residual cancer cells and to accurately assess the reaction of disease fighting against cancer drug during treatment. The immediate correction of the treatment method is one of the reasons for the increased successful treatment rate. In summary, the most common cancer found in children, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, after decades of efforts, with early diagnosis and modern medicine, has become a highly treatable disease.
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