Childhood and Teen Leukemia

We evaluate every child’s leukemia for genetic features. The test results help us choose the most effective therapies. Armed with this knowledge, we offer every treatment available for childhood leukemia, including:

Chemotherapy

Treatment using combinations of anticancer drugs forms the mainstay of therapy for children and teenagers with leukemia. Some leukemia medications may be given intrathecally, meaning the medication is delivered directly into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) using a needle or a tube while your child is under light anesthesia. Other medications are given by intravenous infusion (by vein).

Chemotherapy for leukemia is typically given in stages:

• Initial induction therapy is designed to rid the body of detectable leukemia cells so your child can start making normal blood cells again
• Consolidation therapy aims to kill any leukemia cells that may be lurking in the brain, spinal cord, or bone marrow
• Maintenance therapy, a treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) to reduce the chance that leukemia will come back

CAR T-cell immunotherapy

If your child has acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) that has continued to grow or came back despite prior treatment, they may be eligible to receive CAR T-cell therapy. NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital is certified to provide this “living therapy,” in which a patient’s T cells are removed, modified in a lab to recognize lymphoma cells, multiplied, and then returned to the patient to detect and destroy cancer cells.

Stem cell transplantation

If your child’s leukemia does not respond well to other therapies, we may recommend stem cell transplantation: the donation of healthy stem cells from a matched donor to a patient in need. Our pediatric leukemia teams include specialists in bone marrow and stem cell transplantation, which is provided at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital. We also have expertise in cord blood transplants and the transplantation of stem cells from a partially matched donor to a patient.

Targeted therapy

Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is often treated using a targeted therapy called imatinib, which is taken orally (by mouth).

Investigational treatments

Your child may have opportunities to participate in clinical trials of innovative therapies for pediatric leukemia conducted by Columbia University and Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. Clinical trials of new treatment regimens may offer hope for the small percentage of children whose leukemia continues to come back.

Care for the whole child

Our pediatric cancer care physicians and oncology nurses work with social workers, child life specialists, art therapists, registered dietitians, integrative health professionals, and others to ensure that your child’s experience with leukemia care is as comfortable and seamless as it can be. Leukemia treatment may last up to three years, so we get to know you and your child very well and treat you like family.