Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Treatment India - BMT Abraod

What Is Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia?

Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) is a type of cancer of the blood and bone marrow — the spongy tissue inside bones where blood cells are made.
The word “acute" in acute lymphocytic leukemia comes from the fact that the disease progresses rapidly and creates immature blood cells, rather than mature ones. The word “lymphocytic" in acute lymphocytic leukemia refers to the white blood cells called lymphocytes, which ALL affects. Acute lymphocytic leukemia is also known as acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Acute lymphocytic leukemia is the most common type of cancer in children, and treatments result in a good chance for a cure. Acute lymphocytic leukemia can also occur in adults, though the chance of a cure is greatly reduced.

 Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) SubtypesDoctors classify acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) into subtypes by using various tests. It’s important to get an accurate diagnosis since your subtype plays a large part in deciding the type of treatment you’ll receive.

Common testing used to classify ALL subtypes include immunophenotyping and cytogenetic analysis. Some of these tests may be repeated during and after therapy to measure the effects of treatment. Your doctor must identify the immunophenotype and any abnormalities in your chromosomes to determine:
The intensity of the drug combination needed for your treatment.
The length of time you’ll need to be in treatment.

The two main ALL subtypes, B-cell ALL and T-cell ALL, are determined by immunophenotyping. Most people with ALL have the B-cell type. Most cases of B-cell ALL begin in a cell called a precursor B-cell.

Doctors use the following terms to further describe ALL sub types:

Pre-B-cell ALL
In between 75-80% of adult cases, ALL arises in B-lymphocytes in the early stages of development in the bone marrow. The disease is therefore called precursor B-cell ALL or Pre-B-cell ALL.

B-cell ALL
B-cell ALL arises in more mature developing lymphocytes. This type of ALL is less common accounting for around 3-5% of all adult cases. B-cell ALL is sometimes called Burkitt-like or Burkitt type ALL. People diagnosed with B-cell ALL are commonly treated with similar drugs to those used to treat Burkitt lymphoma.

T-cell ALL
In around 20-25% of cases, ALL arises in developing T-cells. This type of ALL can be further classified as early, mid or late, depending on the maturity of the affected cell. T-cell ALL commonly presents with a high white blood cell count and involvement of the central nervous system at diagnosis.

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