Management of older patients - defined by convention above the age of 60 years, but varying widely within study groups - with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is still a challenge. The complete remission (CR) rate in these patients is lower than in other age groups and the percentage of deaths in induction or in CR remains high, ranging from 7 to 40%. Overall survival rates do not exceed 30%, depending on the age group included in the different trials group and on the follow-up duration. These unsatisfactory results are sustained by the fact that pre-existing comorbidities often hamper treatment delivery and if treatment intensification improves the CR rates it also increases toxicity and the percentage of deaths.
