Molecular Techniques to Improve Outcome in Childhood ALL
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During the last two decades, survival in cases of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has improved from 50% to approx 80%. This has been achieved primarily by intensifying therapy, particularly for high-risk groups (1 ). During this period, biological features of the disease have been investigated for prognostic significance, and along with clinical features, define patient groups for risk-adapted therapy (2 ). Although the prognostic significance of these variables is dependent on the type and intensity of the treatment regimen, in parallel there have been unprecedented advances made in our understanding of the biology of the disease (3 -5 ).
