adult acute lymphocytic leukemia

What is Adult Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL)?

Adult acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) is a rare and aggressive type of blood cancer that affects the bone marrow's ability to produce healthy white blood cells. It is also known as acute lymphoblastic leukemia or ALL.

Characteristics of Adult ALL

• Age: While ALL is more common in children, it can affect adults of any age, with a higher incidence in people over 50.
• Type of cancer: Adult ALL is a type of acute leukemia that progresses rapidly if left untreated.
• Bone marrow involvement: The disease starts in the bone marrow where blood cells are produced.

Causes and Risk Factors

While the exact cause of adult ALL is unknown, certain factors can increase the risk of developing this condition:

• Previous chemotherapy or radiation therapy for other types of cancer
• Exposure to certain chemicals or toxins
• Family history of leukemia

Symptoms of Adult ALL

The symptoms of adult ALL may include:

• Fatigue and pale skin due to anemia (low red blood cell count)
• Recurrent infections due to a weakened immune system
• Bone pain and bruising
• Small red spots under the skin (petechiae)

Diagnosis and Treatment

Adult ALL is diagnosed through a combination of physical examination, medical history, laboratory tests, and imaging studies. Treatment typically involves chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or bone marrow transplantation, depending on individual risk factors and disease characteristics.

Prognosis

The prognosis for adult ALL varies depending on the specific subtype, age, and overall health of the patient. While some people may experience a complete remission with treatment, others may face more challenging outcomes.

References:

• [3] Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (acute lymphocytic leukemia, ALL) is a rare blood cancer that affects a type of white blood cell called lymphocytes.
• [4] What is acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL)? Acute lymphocytic leukemia is a type of acute leukemia. It's also called ALL and acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
• [9] Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) accounts for approximately 2 percent of all leukemias in adults.
• [11] ALL affects the blood cells and immune system, with several subtypes that determine treatment options and outcomes.
• [12] Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a type of blood cancer.

Chemotherapy as the Main Treatment

The main treatment for adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is chemotherapy, which involves using drugs to kill cancer cells [7][8]. Chemotherapy is typically used as an induction therapy for adults with ALL, and it can be given in combination with other treatments such as targeted therapy or immunotherapy [9].

Common Induction Chemotherapy Drugs

The most common induction chemotherapy drugs used for ALL are daunorubicin, vincristine, prednisone, asparaginase, and sometimes cyclophosphamide [8]. These drugs are given over a few days to induce remission in patients with ALL.

Long-term Chemotherapy

In addition to induction chemotherapy, long-term chemotherapy is also used to treat adult ALL. This can involve taking chemotherapy medications for several months or even years to maintain remission and prevent relapse [10].

Targeted Therapy and Immunotherapy

In some cases, targeted therapy or immunotherapy may be added to chemotherapy as part of the treatment plan for adult ALL. These treatments work by targeting specific molecules on cancer cells or using the body's immune system to attack cancer cells [9][14].

References:

• [7] Chemotherapy is the main treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). You have several different chemotherapy drugs over a few days.
• [8] The most common induction chemotherapy drugs used for ALL are daunorubicin, vincristine, prednisone, asparaginase and sometimes cyclophosphamide. During this phase, NYU Langone doctors often prescribe low intensity medications such as prednisone or methotrexate.
• [9] The main treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is chemotherapy. But you may also have targeted cancer drugs, immunotherapy, or a stem cell transplant.
• [10] To learn about ALL in adults, see Leukemia in Adults. The main treatment for acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) in adults is typically long-term chemotherapy (chemo). Sometimes other types of drugs, such as targeted drugs or immunotherapy, might be part of the treatment as well.
• [14] Standard treatments for adult-onset acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) are chemotherapy and stem cell (bone marrow) transplantation.

The differential diagnosis for adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) includes several conditions that can present similarly to ALL. Some of the possible differential diagnoses are:

• Acute myelocytic leukaemia: This is a type of cancer that affects the myeloid cells in the bone marrow, and it can be difficult to distinguish from ALL based on clinical presentation alone [7][9].
• Acute anaemia: While not typically considered a malignancy, acute anaemia can present with similar symptoms to ALL, such as fatigue and weakness [2].
• Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML): This is a rare type of cancer that affects children and young adults, but it can also occur in adults. It can be difficult to distinguish from ALL based on clinical presentation alone [4][7].

It's worth noting that the diagnosis of ALL is typically made when blast cells of lymphoid origin are ≥ 20% of marrow nucleated cells or ≥ 20% of non-erythroid cells, as stated in [3]. However, it's also important to consider other conditions that may present similarly to ALL.

In terms of specific markers for diagnosis and differential diagnosis, CD19, CD20, CD22, CD24, and CD79a are the most important markers for B-lineage ALL [14].

References:

[2] - People with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) often have lower-than-normal numbers of red blood cells and platelets. [3] - A diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia is made when blast cells of lymphoid origin are ≥ 20% of marrow nucleated cells or ≥ 20% of non-erythroid cells ... [4] - Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) is a rare type of cancer that affects children and young adults, but it can also occur in adults. [7] - The following are possible differential diagnosis for ALL: Acute myelocytic leukaemia; Acute anaemia; Juvenile ... [14] - In B-lineage ALL the most important markers for diagnosis, differential diagnosis and subclassification are CD19, CD20, CD22, CD24, and CD79a. ...