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Prospects for immunotherapy of acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Leukemia volume 15, pages 701–706 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is diagnosed in approximately 100 000 people worldwide per year and 70% of the patients are children. Most children have a good prognosis, as almost 80% will be cured, however only 30% of adults are cured. Additionally, the current chemotherapies have long- lasting and severe side-effects. These findings indicate that the search for better and safer treatment modalities for ALL is still important. As leukemia directly affects the human immune cells, immunotherapeutic approaches have long been ignored as treatment options for this disease. However, increased knowledge of the immune system has opened new opportunities for immune modulation that could be of benefit to leukemia patients. Several recent advances towards immunotherapy of ALL will be discussed.

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Acknowledgements

MPV is a fellow of the Cancer Research Institute (CRI). We thank Dr Giuseppina Nucifora and Diane Da Silva for critical reading of the manuscript.

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  1. Cancer Immunology Program, Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, Loyola University Chicago, 2160 S First Ave, Bldg 112, Maywood, IL 60153, USA

    MP Velders, SAJter Horst & WM Kast

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Velders, M., Horst, S. & Kast, W. Prospects for immunotherapy of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Leukemia 15, 701–706 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.leu.2402103

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