Chemotherapy for ALL

Steroids will start as soon as diagnosis is confirmed and continue until induction begins. This is usually a few days.

Intensive treatment using several chemotherapy drugs, with the aim of clearing all the cancer cells from your blood and bone marrow. The induction stage can last 8 weeks.

You will have a bone marrow biopsy afterwards to see how well the treatment has worked. The aim is for the leukaemia to go into remission.

Once remission occurs, more courses of chemotherapy are usually given with a different combination of drugs. This is to clear any remaining leukaemia cells and to protect your brain and spinal fluid from leukaemia. An intensification cycle lasts around 4 weeks.

Normally, 4 cycles of consolidation are given. The 3rd cycle lasts around 6 weeks. The other cycles are around 4 weeks each.

The aim of maintenance is to prevent ALL from recurring (coming back). Maintenance usually involves low doses of chemotherapy and steroids given in 3-monthly cycles. This is far less intensive than the other phases and treatment is given over a longer period of time. 

You will be treated as an outpatient and will see your doctor or nurse regularly, usually weekly, in hospital. You may be able to go back to work and normal activities during the maintenance stage.