Black, Hispanic and American Indian children were less likely to survive leukemia than white children, possibly because treatment was not aggressive enough, two studies being published today suggest.

In the 1990's, 84 percent of white children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia nationwide survived at least five years, compared with 75 percent of black children and 72 percent of Hispanic and American Indian children, a national study found.

At St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, long-term, aggressive treatment is standard, and 85 percent of white children and 86 percent of black children survived during the same period.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/15/health/15LEUK.html