Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia

What is the latest research on JMML?

A variety of chemotherapeutic regimens have been evaluated in the treatment of newly diagnosed high-grade gliomas.

• While studies in adults have suggested that procarbazine, vincristine and CCNU (PVC) produce modest responses in grade III gliomas, this has not been demonstrated for pediatric cases or for grade IV tumors.
• Several other regimens have also produced responses, but none has improved survival.
• Increased doses of chemotherapy in the setting of autologous bone marrow transplant have also not produced notable advantage.

In the area of stem cell transplantation, the Dana-Farber/Children's Transplant Program is one of only eight institutions around the country that are investigating the use of umbilical cord transplantation.

Also under study is a novel method for preventing graft versus host disease, a serious complication that occurs when transplanted cells do not recognize the tissues and organs of the recipient's body and react against the recipient's tissue. The result of this treatment approach, if it continues to be as successful, will be that the degree of match between donor and the recipient will not need to be particularly close, greatly increasing the pool of potential donors for each patient. This could also eliminate the need for long-term drug therapy traditionally needed to treat graft versus host disease.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children's Hospital are part of the Children's Oncology Group, a national group of pediatric oncologists who work together to carry out clinical trials in pediatric oncology patients.