A Severity-Adapted Clinical Trial of Diminished Bone Mineral Density in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Survivors

Summary

Research studies have shown that children who are long-term survivors of childhood leukemia may be at greater risk for early bone loss called osteoporosis. This bone loss may lead to a greater risk of broken bones and other spine and bone problems. However, researchers still do not know much about how frequently this long-term side effect may occur and how severe the problem is. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital researchers want to determine the frequency and severity of this side effect. They are also studying whether taking calcium and Vitamin D supplements can help children at risk for osteoporosis and if certain factors can be identified -- such as age at diagnosis, cancer treatments, or family history -- that may increase the chances of having osteoporosis. Researchers will take an x-ray study called quantitative computed tomography (QCT) to measure bone mineral density (BMD). The BMD is a measure of bone strength. If a subject's BMD falls below the average, he/she will be assigned to one of two groups. Subjects will be randomly assigned (like tossing a coin) to receive calcium and vitamin D pills. The other half will receive placebo pills that look like the calcium and vitamin D pills.

Timeline

Start

2000-07

Primary completion

2009-06

Completion

2011-09

Publications

• Background Kaste SC, Rai SN, Fleming K, McCammon EA, Tylavsky FA, Danish RK, Rose SR, Sitter CD, Pui CH, Hudson MM. Changes in bone mineral density in survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2006 Jan;46(1):77-87. doi: 10.1002/pbc.20553.
• Background Crom DB, Tyc VL, Rai SN, Deng X, Hudson MM, Booth A, Rodrigues LN, Zhang L, McCammon E, Kaste SC. Retention of survivors of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in a longitudinal study of bone mineral density. J Child Health Care. 2006 Dec;10(4):337-50. doi: 10.1177/1367493506067886.

Drugs

Indications