RATIONALE: Gathering information about how often kidney dysfunction occurs in children and young adults receiving methotrexate for acute lymphoblastic leukemia may help doctors learn more about the disease and plan the best treatment.

PURPOSE: This research study is looking at kidney dysfunction in children and young adults who have received low-dose or intermediate-dose methotrexate for acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

OBJECTIVES:

• Examine the incidence of renal dysfunction in children and young adults being treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia with low- to intermediate-dose methotrexate.

OUTLINE: Medical charts are reviewed to obtain the following information: gender, age, diagnosis, regimen, day of therapy, renal function, creatinine level, mucositis, skin sloughing, methotrexate level at highest level, and number of days after intravenous methotrexate.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia

  • Receiving low- to intermediate-dose methotrexate or received treatment (chemotherapy and/or radiation) at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• Not specified

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• See Disease Characteristics