Genetic Biomarkers to Identify the Risk of Osteonecrosis in Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Osteonecrosis is a disabling complication of treatment for pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and much effort has been made to predict which patients are prone to develop this disease. Multiple clinical and genetic factors have already been identified as being associated with osteonecrosis; however, a prediction model that combines pretreatment genetic biomarkers and clinical factors has not yet been designed. Such a prediction model can only be developed with continuing international collaborations and research efforts, including large genome-wide association studies.