Factors influencing survival in pediatric acute leukemia.The SWCCSG experience, 1958–1970

Abstract

From 1958 through 1970 a total of 1,024 patients was entered on the 7 clinical studies of the Southwest Cancer Chemotherapy Study Group for newly diagnosed cases of acute leukemia. A review of these cases was undertaken to determine the important factors, other than therapy, influencing survival. The most important variables in terms of survival prognosis were found to be age at diagnosis, histologic type of leukemia, and initial peripheral blood leukocyte count. The influence of these variables appeared to persist for at least 5 years following diagnosis. Based on these variables, a simple heuristic approach was taken to define prognostic groups of patients. The patient's race, initial platelet count, hemorrhagic status, and enlargement status of liver, spleen, and nodes were of additional prognostic value, but there appeared to be no prognostic significance in the patient's sex, initial hemoglobin value, or percent of blast cells in the bone marrow.