Introduction:
The present study aimed to compare the efficacy of vindesine with that of leurocristine for pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia and their effects on the quality of life.

Material and methods:
We included 94 patients with pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia admitted to our hospital for treatment and categorized them into two groups: treatment with vindesine (group A, n = 48) and treatment with leurocristine (group B; n = 48). The effective rate, adverse reactions (thrombocytopenia, anemia, peripheral neurotoxic reaction, infection, nausea, and vomiting) and basic clinical conditions (medical expenses and length of hospital stay) of the patients were observed. In addition, interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) expression levels were determined by ELISA before and after treatment, posttreatment quality of life score was determined by the Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS), and the 5-year overall survival was determined in both groups.

Results:
Group A showed no significant difference in the total efficacy rate and 5-year overall survival after treatment (p > 0.05) and had lower medical expenses, length of hospital stay, IL-6 and TNF-α expression, and total incidence of adverse reactions and higher KPS scores than group B (p < 0.05).

Conclusions:
Although no significant difference was observed between vindesine and leurocristine in treating pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia, patients administered vindesine had fewer adverse reactions, shorter length of hospital stay, lower medical expenses, and higher quality of life than those administered leurocristine, indicating a potential association with decreased serum IL-6 and TNF-α expression.