Long-term outcome of adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia in Lebanon A single institution experience from the American University of Beirut

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVESThe most important studies about outcome of acute leukemia come from developed countries, whereas most of the patients with this disease are in developing countries. We report predictive and prognostic factors in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in a tertiary care center in a developing country.PATIENTS AND METHODSWe retrospectively reviewed the records of adult patients with acute leukemia who were referred to the American University of Beirut Medical Center between 1996 and early 2006.RESULTSOf 105 patients, 36 (34%) patients were diagnosed with ALL, and included 19 (53%) males and 17 (47%) females with a median age of 34 years (range, 14−79 years). Induction chemotherapy with curative intent was administered to 34 (94%) patients. Twenty-seven patients received intrathecal chemotherapy as prophylaxis (n=24) or as treatment for CNS disease (n=3). Twenty-eight patients (82%) achieved complete remission (CR) after induction chemotherapy. The median overall survival (OS) time was 22 months and the five-year OS for ALL patients was 38%. The median disease-free survival (DFS) time was 12 months, while the five-year DFS was 38%. Multivariate analysis showed that age <40years, WBC