Children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia( ALL), who have abnormalities in a gene called IKZF1 are three times as likely to have a relapse than those who do not, according to a study by researchers at New England Journal of Medicine.

The IKZF1 gene leads to three times incresed chance of relapse.The cure rate with existing treatment for children with ALL is about 80 percent. About a quarter suffer a relapse, and 30 percent of those children only survive up to five years.Doctors hesitate to routinely use intensified chemotherapy because of its toxicity, but knowing a child has this genetic abnormality might outweigh the risk.Screening for the IKZF1 gene can lead to better treatment of ALL and prevention of relapse.

Source:Reuters health