Just being argumentative :-)

[huy.duong@ctsu.ox.ac.uk]

Dear anh Tuan,

>>I don't work in ALL, but a researcher in my dept says that 
>>Phuong Lien's white cell count is favourable and she has at least an
>>75% chance of long term survival.
>
>	This is a great news for her family. 

But her family must remember that this is a statistical statement
with all of its limitation, eg

>On the average, the survival rate or successful rate of a treatement 
>may be 80%. However it is an average; there are patients who 
>do better than that and there are patients who had worse 
>response.

Also:

>In fact, there have been 
>evidence showing that the efficacy of treatment is dependent 
>on the individual's interaction between genetic and 
>environmental factors.

This is true. For example, penicillin cures more infection
cases than no penicillin, but it would be crazy to give penicillin
to a patient known to be allergic to penicillin.

However, before we write off statistics, consider this. There are 
times when we don't know what genetics and environmental factors 
are involved or how they work. At such times, even if we have 
just one patient, if we have a treatment that cures 80% of cases
and one that cures 70% of cases, all things else that we know 
being equal, we have no logical choice but go for the first treatment. 

>I mean, if once keeps smoking while 
>he/she has cancer of the lung, then treatment will not bring 
>a good result at all.
               ^^^^^^^
Ahem...haven't you got to be careful here :-). The link between
smoking and cancer is not acute and varies from one person to another.

>	I guess you have to tell us how long the "survival" is? 
>10 yrs or 20 yrs or more.

These trials are recent and the 70-80% who survive have not been
followed up for as long as 10 years. What I meant was this. Sometimes
a patient is cured of leukaemia, but it comes back after a short time.
The 70-80% who survive above have not had the disease come back for 
long enough for people to think that leukaemia isn't more likely to 
strike them again than anyone of us.  

BTW, last year a state hospital in Britain refused to continue
to treat a girl with leukaemia on the ground that it would be
very expensive and she has little chance. It was a big national
controversy. A philathropist stepped in and paid for her treatment.
Unfortunately it wasn't successful.

Huy