Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia

 Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, also known as acute lymphocytic leukemia or acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL), is an acute form ofleukemia, or cancer of the white blood cells, characterized by the overproduction and accumulation of cancerous, immature white blood cells, known as lymphoblasts.

ALL, lymphoblasts are overproduced in the bone marrow and continuously multiply, causing damage and death by inhibiting the production of normal cells (such as red and white blood cells and platelets) in the bone marrow and by spreading (infiltrating) to other organs. ALL is most common in childhood, with a peak incidence at 2–5 years of age and another peak in old age.

The signs and symptoms of ALL are

• Generalized weakness and fatigue

• Anemia

• Dizziness

• Frequent or unexplained fever and infection

• Weight loss and/or loss of appetite

• Excessive and unexplained bruising

• Bone pain, joint pain (caused by the spread of "blast" cells to the surface of the bone or into the joint from the marrow cavity)

• Breathlessness

• Enlarged lymph nodes, liver and/or spleen

• Pitting edema (swelling) in the lower limbs and/or abdomen

• Petechiae, which are tiny red spots or lines in the skin due to low platelet levels

Tests and Diagnosis

• Physical examination

• Complete blood count

• Blood smear

• Bone marrow biopsy

• Spinal tap

 Treatment and Medication

Chemotherapy

Remission induction:Combination of prednisolone or dexamethasone, vincristine, asparaginase (better tolerance in pediatric patients), and daunorubicin (used in Adult ALL) is used to induce remission. Central nervous system prophylaxis can be achieved via irradiation, cytarabine and methotrexate, or liposomal cytarabine.In Philadelphia chromosome-positive ALL, the intensity of initial induction treatment may be less than has been traditionally given.

Consolidation:Typical consolidiation protocols use vincristine, cyclophosphamide, cytarabine, daunorubicin, etoposide, thioguanine or mercaptopurine given as blocks in different combinations. For CNS protection, intrathecal methotrexate or cytarabine is usually used combined with or without cranio-spinal irradiation (the use of radiation therapy to the head and spine). Central nervous system relapse is treated with intrathecal administration of hydrocortisone, methotrexate, and cytarabine.

Maintenance therapy: Oral mercaptopurine, once weekly oral methotrexate, once monthly 5-day course of intravenous vincristine and oral corticosteroids are usually used. The length of maintenance therapy is 3 years for boys, 2 years for girls and adults.

And the other include

Immunotherapy

Biological therapy

Radiation therapy

 Statistics

A retrospective analysis of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) was performed to evaluate the current status of diagnosis and treatment of ALL in Japanese children. Clinical records of 670 children with ALL were collected and analyzed; these children had been diagnosed between 1991 and 1995 at the 53 institutions in 4 areas participating in the Japan Association of Childhood Leukemia Study.

It was found that T-cell ALL was significantly less frequent in Tokai and Hokkaido than in Kansai and Chu-Shikoku. The overall induction rate was 92.4%. The estimated 7-year overall survival rate and event-free survival (EFS) rate were 76.0% +/- 1.9% and 61.4% +/- 2.1%, respectively. EFS rates were significantly different among the geographic areas.

In female patients with B-cell precursor (B-pre) ALL and white blood cell counts at diagnosis (WBCsdiag) below 50.0 x 10(9)/L, favorable outcomes were significant. Favorable outcomes were not significant in B-pre ALL patients with a WBCdiag above 50.0 x 10(9)/L or in T-cell ALL patients. The EFS rate for infants was significantly worse than that for patients over 1 year of age. In B-pre ALL, but not in T-cell ALL, it was found that the higher the WBCdiag, the worse the EFS rate.

Multivariate analysis showed that the following factors were significantly unfavorable for EFS: the Philadelphia chromosome, an translocations associated with chromosome 11q23, an acute unclassified leukemia, mixed-lineage leukemia, a WBCdiag above 100.0 x 10(9)/L, and male gender. Hyperdiploidy (> 50 chromosomes) was significantly favorable for EFS.