Skip to Main Content

Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia Treatment

Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) is a rare and serious form of childhood leukemia (blood cancer).

JMML occurs when the bone marrow makes too many white blood cells that do not work correctly. People with JMML do not have enough healthy white blood cells. As a result, they cannot fight infections well.

JMML occurs most often in children younger than 4 years old. Only 1–2 children in 1 million are diagnosed with JMML each year. That is 25–50 cases a year in the United States.

Read more about JMML on the Together by St. Jude™ online resource.

Treatment of juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia

The main treatment for JMML is a stem cell (bone marrow) transplant. In some cases, JMML will go away on its own without treatment. Doctors closely watch these cases.


Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia clinical trials

St. Jude offers clinical trials and cancer research studies for children, teens, and young adults for juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia. Learn more about clinical research at St. Jude.

Recruiting
PEPN2312: Imetelstat with Fludarabine and Cytarabine for AML, MDS, or JMML

Study goal:

To find the safest dose of imetelstat that can be given with fludarabine and cytarabine to stop the growth of cancer cells.  

Age:

Between 12 months and 18 years old


Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia care at St. Jude

St. Jude provides the highest quality of care for patients with JMML:

  • St. Jude has one of the world’s largest stem cell (bone marrow) transplant programs for children, teens, and young adults.

  • Doctors at St. Jude work closely with laboratory scientists to move discoveries from the lab to the clinic.

  • St. Jude support staff members have been specially trained to care for children receiving stem cell transplants.

  • St. Jude offers a dedicated team of specialists to meet the needs of children with cancer, including:

More reasons to choose St. Jude for care include:

  • We are consistently ranked among the best childhood cancer centers in the nation by US News & World Report. 

  • At St. Jude, we have created an environment where children can be children and families can be together.  

  • We lead more clinical trials for childhood cancer than any other hospital in the U.S.  

  • St. Jude is the only National Cancer Institute–designated Comprehensive Cancer Center just for children. A Comprehensive Cancer Center meets rigorous standards for research to develop new and better approaches to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer. 

  • The nurse-to-patient ratio at St. Jude is about 1:3 in hematology and oncology and 1:1 in the Intensive Care Unit. 

  • Patients may be able to get expert, compassionate care and treatment closer to their homes through our St. Jude Affiliate clinics. 

A statue of children running and holding hands

Seeking treatment at St. Jude

Patients accepted to St. Jude must have a disease we treat and must be referred by a physician or other qualified medical professional. We accept most patients based on their ability to enroll in an open clinical trial.

How to seek treatment

Contact the Physician / Patient Referral Office

Call: 1-888-226-4343 (toll-free) or 901-595-4055 (local)  | Fax: 901-595-4011 | Email: referralinfo@stjude.org | 24-hour pager: 1-800-349-4334

 

Learn more