VIDEO: Minimizing long-term side effects of ALL treatments

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In one of the lectures we have as our treatments get better, we can start thinking about how could we minimize side effects, and that's certainly really important. And the first thing I will say is that, you know, staying aware of how your patient is tolerating treatments, you know, knowing your patient at the beginning, what their age is, what their comorbidities are, what they might be particularly susceptible in terms of treatment side effects, and monitoring how they do on their therapy closely. Certainly, side effects are to be expected, and many are relatively mild or modest that can be managed with supportive care.

But there are times where the treatment plan needs to be adjusted. And I always say, "Come up with a plan." We try to stick to it but we always have to be flexible and make adjustments based on how they're doing. You know, that might be dose modifications or treatment adjustments. On the more general scale, as we're developing new therapies for ALL, and we're learning to figure out how effective are they in the upfront setting, we may be able to reduce the amount of chemotherapy, conventional chemotherapy, in the initial treatment setting, which may reduce side effects, particularly for those older adults and adults with comorbidities who may tolerate more conventional approaches less well.