Acute Leukemia in Down Syndrome Children in Hong Kong

Background Children with Down syndrome (DS) are at higher risk of developing acute leukemia. Treatment continues to evolve as we accumulate better understanding of the distinctive clinical and biological features of acute leukemia in DS patients. Procedure A retrospective review of the clinical features, treatment outcomes, and survival of DS children with acute leukemia in Hong Kong from 1993 to 2013 was conducted. Patients were identified from the registry of the Hong Kong Pediatric Hematology and Oncology study group. Results This cohort included a total of 29 patients with DS. Ten were diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and 19 had acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The mean follow-up duration was 8.3 years (range, 0.6 mo to 18.1 y). The 5-year overall survival and event-free survival for DS-acute lymphoblastic leukemia and DS-AML were 65.6%, 54.9%, 89.5%, and 89.5%, respectively. Conclusions The clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of DS patients with acute leukemia in Hong Kong were comparable with results from other international study groups. Patients with DS-AML had a better prognosis.