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Experts in Childhood Leukemia Diagnosis and Treatment

Our UChicago Medicine Comer Children's Hospital childhood leukemia team takes a multidisciplinary approach and utilizes the latest clinical trial results and scientific breakthroughs to provide outstanding care for each of our pediatric leukemia patients.

What is Childhood Leukemia?

Pediatric leukemia, the most common type of childhood cancer, is a cancer of the bone marrow and blood. When children have leukemia, their bone marrow makes white blood cells that do not mature properly. These unhealthy cells rapidly reproduce, crowding out the healthy bone marrow cells that produce infection-fighting white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets. Childhood leukemia can occur at any age, but is most commonly diagnosed in children between 2 and 6 years old.

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What are the Symptoms of Childhood Leukemia?

Symptoms of childhood leukemia vary depending on the type of leukemia — acute or chronic. Some of the more common symptoms of leukemia may include:

  • Fatigue
  • Pale skin
  • Bleeding and/or bruising
  • Recurrent infections
  • Bone and joint pain
  • Swollen lymph nodes
  • Difficulty breathing

The University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children's Hospital provides comprehensive diagnostics, treatments and long-term follow-up care for children and adolescents who have leukemia.

How is Childhood Leukemia Treated?

Our pediatric cancer care team has the extensive experience needed to provide young leukemia patients outstanding clinical care — offering both the latest investigational therapies as well as established treatments for all types of leukemia in children. In fact, the University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children's Hospital was the first hospital in Chicago certified to offer CAR T-cell therapy for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in children and young adults.

Your child’s specific treatment plan depends on a variety of factors and will be mapped out by our full team of pediatric cancer experts.

We offer conventional pediatric leukemia treatments, as well as the latest innovative therapies, and tailor the plan to each patient’s unique needs.

Frequently Asked Questions About Childhood Leukemia

The major types of childhood leukemia include:

  • Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). This is the most common cancer in childhood, tends to occur most often in children between the ages of 2-6, and is treated with chemotherapy that is mostly administered in the outpatient setting.
  • Acute myeloid leukemia (AML). This is the second most common type of leukemia diagnosed in children, most often diagnosed either in very young children (<2 years of age) or in teenagers. It is treated with chemotherapy, most often in the inpatient setting.
  • Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). This is a less common type of leukemia diagnosed in children, mostly in the teenage years. Treatment is typically with an oral chemotherapy drug that specifically targets the genetic abnormality in the leukemia cells.
  • Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML). This is a very rare type of leukemia, diagnosed in infants or very young children. Stem cell transplant is required, with some children receiving chemotherapy prior to stem cell transplant.

The specific cause for most leukemias in children is unknown, but there are a few known risk factors related to this type of cancer. These include:

  • Genetic disorders, such as Down syndrome (trisomy 21) and Li-Fraumeni syndrome.
  • Inherited immune system conditions, such as Ataxia-telangiectasia and Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome.
  • Environmental risk factors, like exposure to radiation or chemotherapy given for other cancers.

We offer the latest tools and technology for diagnosing childhood cancer. The diagnosis of leukemia in children begins with a complete medical history and physical exam followed by medical tests. Diagnostic procedures for leukemia include:

  • A complete blood count (CBC) to examine white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets
  • Bone marrow aspiration and biopsy to look at the cavity where all blood cells in the body are made. This is where leukemia starts.
  • State-of–the-art flow cytometry analysis, molecular diagnostics and a chromosome analysis to determine the subtype of leukemia
  • A spinal tap to examine the fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord to determine if any of the leukemia has spread to the central nervous system

At Comer’s Children, we take a multidisciplinary approach to treating every child and teen with leukemia.

Your child’s specific treatment plan depends on a variety of factors and will be mapped out by our full team of pediatric cancer experts.

We offer conventional pediatric leukemia treatments, as well as the latest innovative therapies, and tailor the plan to each patient’s unique needs.

Our Pediatric Cancer Locations in Chicago and Merrillville

Request an Appointment

The information you provide on this secure form to request an appointment with a UChicago Medicine pediatric leukemia expert will enable us to assist you as efficiently as possible. A representative will contact you within one to two business days to help you schedule an appointment. 

You can also make an appointment with our providers by:

Scheduling a virtual video visit to see a provider from the comfort of your home

Requesting an online second opinion from our specialists

To speak to someone directly, please call 773-702-6169. If you have symptoms of an urgent nature, please call your doctor or go to the emergency room immediately.

For Referring Physicians

To refer a pediatric patient for leukemia care, please call UCM Physician Connect at 1-800-824-2282

 

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Childhood Leukemia

Battling Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

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