Chances of recovery
Fortunately, there have been numerous advances and improvements in the treatment of childhood leukemia over the past decades. Currently, about 80-90% of children are free of leukemia 5 years after diagnosis. In this context one also speaks of the 5-year survival rate.
With adequate treatment, childhood leukemia is definitely curable! Without appropriate therapy, however, acute leukemia is always fatal. Nevertheless, it is not possible to tell from this figure whether an individual child actually survives the disease unscathed.
Individual influences such as childhood, spread or form of the leukemia determine the curability.In this context, one speaks of “prognostic factors”. So it is of course possible that also children with negative prognostic factors are cured and vice versa. About every 7th child suffers a relapse of the disease.
One speaks then of a relapse. They usually occur within 2-3 years after initial diagnosis and have rather poorer chances of recovery.
- Positive factors are rather low white blood cell values, no infestation of the central nervous system or an age of illness between 2-10 years.
- Unfavorable prognosis factors would be, for example, an infestation of the central nervous system or a T-ALL. However, these factors are based on statistics and experience.
