Epidemiology of childhood leukemia in the presence and absence of Down syndrome

We provide background on DS epidemiology and review the similarities and differences in biological and epidemiologic features of leukemia in children with and without DS. We propose that both acute lymphoblastic and acute myeloblastic leukemia among DS children can serve as an informative model for development of childhood leukemia. Further, the high rates of leukemia among DS children make it possible to study this disease using a cohort approach, a powerful method that is unfeasible in the general population due to the rarity of childhood leukemia.