This is a non-therapeutic clinical trial that is only open to St. Jude patients.
About this study
Red cell transfusions are an important part of supportive cancer therapy. The iron in the transfused blood may build up in the body since the body has no way to get rid of extra iron. Iron tends to build up in the liver and the heart muscle. It is unknown if iron build-up is present many years after completing cancer therapy. It is also not known if extra iron causes harm to internal organs. Doctors want to understand if iron build-up (called “iron overload”) exists in survivors of leukemia. They also want to know if iron overload can cause injury to organs if it is present.
Objectives
- To find out how many long-term survivors of leukemia have iron overload by using MRI testing.
- To study how the number of red blood cell transfusions you received determines whether you have iron overload.
- To explore how your age at the time of cancer therapy, the length of time from therapy, and gender affects whether you develop iron overload.
- To find out if iron overload is causing problems with your organs.
Inclusion criteria
- Participant had a diagnosis of hematologic malignancy (ALL or AML) that was treated at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital with conventional chemotherapy.
- At time of enrollment participant should be > 5 and < 10 years from diagnosis of primary cancer.
- Participant is not undergoing active therapy for relapse or subsequent malignant neoplasm.
- Recipient of > 50 ml/kg packed red blood cell transfusions during therapy
Exclusion criteria
- Participant is pregnant.
- If participant is an adult, requires IV sedation to undergo MRI.