Children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and some with non-Hodgkin lymphoma have a long period of maintenance therapy lasting 18 months (for girls) or 30 months for boys.
In these patients it consists of drug treatment by mouth (oral drugs) given as an outpatient, in between doses of intravenous (IV) and intrathecal medication (IT). Treatment is monitored by regular full blood counts either once a week or once a fortnight, and the drug doses are increased or decreased depending upon the child’s blood count level. The main drugs used are:
- Mercaptopurine
- Methotrexate (MTX)
- Dexamethasone (steroid)
- Co-trimoxazole (antibiotic)
- Vincristine (VCR)