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What Is Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL)
What Is Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) administrator 4 Views • 2 years ago

What Is Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL)?<br />Cancer starts when cells in the body begin to grow out of control. There are many kinds of cancer. Cells in nearly any part of the body can become cancer. To learn more about cancer and how it starts and spreads, see What Is Cancer?<br /><br />Leukemias are cancers that start in cells that would normally develop into different types of blood cells. Most often, leukemia starts in early forms of white blood cells, but some leukemias start in other blood cell types.<br /><br />There are several types of leukemia, which are divided based mainly on whether the leukemia is acute (fast growing) or chronic (slower growing), and whether it starts in myeloid cells or lymphoid cells. Knowing the specific type of leukemia helps doctors better predict each person’s prognosis (outlook) and select the best treatment.<br /><br />Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) is also called acute lymphoblastic leukemia. “Acute” means that the leukemia can progress quickly, and if not treated, would probably be fatal within a few months. "Lymphocytic" means it develops from early (immature) forms of lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell.<br /><br />ALL starts in the bone marrow (the soft inner part of certain bones, where new blood cells are made). Most often, the leukemia cells invade the blood fairly quickly. They can also sometimes spread to other parts of the body, including the lymph nodes, liver, spleen, central nervous system (brain and spinal cord), and testicles (in males). Some cancers can also start in these organs and then spread to the bone marrow, but these cancers are not leukemia.<br /><br />Other types of cancer that start in lymphocytes are known as lymphomas (either non-Hodgkin lymphoma or Hodgkin lymphoma). While leukemias like ALL mainly affect the bone marrow and the blood, lymphomas mainly affect the lymph nodes or other organs (but may also involve the bone marrow). Sometimes it can be hard to tell if a cancer of lymphocytes is a leukemia or a lymphoma. Usually, if at least 20% of the bone marrow is made up of cancerous lymphocytes (called lymphoblasts, or just blasts), the disease is considered leukemia.<br /><br />Normal bone marrow, blood, and lymph tissue<br />To understand leukemia, it helps to know about the blood and lymph systems.<br /><br />Bone marrow<br />Bone marrow is the soft inner part of certain bones. It is made up of blood-forming cells, fat cells, and supporting tissues. A small fraction of the blood-forming cells are blood stem cells.<br /><br />Inside the bone marrow, blood stem cells go through a series of changes to make new blood cells. During this process, the cells develop into 1 of the 3 main types of blood cell components:<br /><br />Red blood cells<br />Platelets<br />White blood cells<br />Red blood cells<br />Red blood cells (RBCs) carry oxygen from the lungs to all other tissues in the body, and take carbon dioxide back to the lungs to be removed.<br />

What is Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia?
What is Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia? administrator 1 Views • 2 years ago

Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), also called acute lymphoblastic leukemia, is a cancer that starts from the early version of white blood cells called lymphocytes in the bone marrow (the soft inner part of the bones, where new blood cells are made). The term “acute” means that the leukemia can progress quickly, and if not treated, would probably be fatal within a few months. Lymphocytic means it develops from early (immature) forms of lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell. ALL is the most common type of cancer in children. Possible risk factors for ALL include  Being male  Being white  Previous chemotherapy treatment  Exposure to radiation  And for adults, being older than 70 3: Symptoms of ALL include:Weakness or feeling tired  Fever  Easy bruising or bleeding  Bleeding under the skin  Shortness of breath  Weight loss or loss of appe****e  Pain in the bones or stomach  Pain or a feeling of fullness below the ribs  Painless lumps in the neck, underarm, stomach, or groin 4: Tests that examine the blood and bone marrow diagnose ALL. They are 1. Blood tests. Blood tests may reveal too many white blood cells, not enough red blood cells and not enough platelets. 2. Bone marrow test. 3. Imaging tests. 4. Spinal fluid test Treatments include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, stem cell transplants and targeted therapy. The drugs known as targeted therapy help stop cancer from growing and spreading. They work by targeting specific genes or proteins. These genes and proteins are found in cancer cells or in cells related to cancer growth, like blood vessel cells. Targeted therapy uses substances that attack cancer cells without harming normal cells. Once the leukemia is in remission, you need additional treatment to make sure that it does not come back.

What is Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia?
What is Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia? administrator 6 Views • 2 years ago

Inside the hollow area of the bones is a spongy core called bone marrow. It is here, that stem cells are produced. Stem cells are immature cells that can develop into components of blood: red blood cells, which carry oxygen to the body; white blood cells or lymphocytes, which fight infection; and platelets, which helps blood to clot. Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) is a cancer of the stem cells in the bone marrow that produce lymphocytes. The term “acute” means the cancer cells multiply rapidly, crowding out the normal cells in the blood and bone marrow. In addition, as the number of unhealthy lymphocytes in the blood and bone marrow increases, fewer red blood cells and platelets are produced. If the bone marrow is unable to produce enough healthy lymphocytes, the patient will be unable to fight infections. The leukemia cells can travel in the blood stream, or metastasize to other organs in the body where they can begin to form additional tumors. Common symptoms of ALL include persistent fever, fatigue, bleeding, easy bruising, and swollen lymph nodes. Chemotherapy is the first line of treatment, aimed at destroying the leukemia cells and allowing normal blood cells to grow. Radiation therapy, biologic therapy, and bone marrow transplantation may also be used if chemotherapy is unsuccessful. Acute lymphocytic leukemia is the most common cancer in young children. However, nearly 80% of all children with ALL can be cured.

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