Simple leukemia treatment change in India cuts early child deaths

Article excerpt

A landmark Indian clinical trial found that giving steroids in short bursts instead of continuously can halve early treatment-related deaths in children with leukemia without reducing cure rates. The study, led by the Indian Childhood Collaborative Leukemia group and including University of Manchester researchers, treated over 3,000 children with acute B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia at six major centers across India. This simple protocol change addresses a critical problem in pediatric leukemia treatment: early deaths from toxicity rather than cancer itself, which disproportionately affects children in resource-limited settings.