No, not all Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) cases need a bone marrow transplant (BMT); chemotherapy is usually primary, but transplants are crucial for high-risk cases, relapsed ALL, or when chemo fails, using healthy stem cells to replace cancerous ones after high-dose therapy. The need for a transplant depends on ALL's subtype, risk factors (like genetic changes), patient's age, and overall health, making it a personalized decision.
The healthy blood stem cells will grow and multiply, forming new bone marrow and blood cells. Stem cell transplantation is not used as the first or primary treatment for ALL. It may be used as a treatment for high-risk ALL patients or for patients who do not respond to treatment.
Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (also called ALL or acute lymphocytic leukemia) is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. This is the most common type of cancer in children. It accounts for about 25% of all childhood cancers in the United States and occurs most often in children aged 1 to 4 years.
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) starts from young white blood cells called lymphocytes in the bone marrow. Find out about symptoms, tests to diagnose, treatments and how to cope.
Response rates to ALL treatment
In general, about 80% to 90% of adults will have their ALL go into complete remission at some point during treatment. This means leukemia cells can no longer be seen in their bone marrow.
Because of advances in diagnosis and treatment of this disease, APL is now considered the most curable form of adult leukemia.
Symptoms of the progression of CLL include:
Common leukemia signs and symptoms include:
Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) often develops very slowly. You might need little or no treatment. Although it is not usually curable, the disease can be under control for many years.
These cells don't work like normal, mature white blood cells. These findings may suggest leukemia, but the disease usually is not diagnosed without looking at a sample of bone marrow cells.
People with ALL must be treated. Without treatment, survival is only a few months. With current treatment regimens, about 80%–90% of people with ALL will reach a complete remission (which means that leukemia cells cannot be seen in the bone marrow). About half of these people relapse.
Symptoms of childhood leukemia
Coughing or trouble breathing. Headaches, seizures, balance problems, visual changes, or vomiting (if the leukemia spreads to the brain and spinal cord) Loss of appetite or weight. Pain in the bones and joints.
Treatment options for relapsed or refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (R/R ALL) continue to expand. Novel therapies such as CAR T-cell therapy, bispecific antibodies, and antibody-drug conjugates are improving remission rates and longer-term survival for many.
Stem cell transplant is very similar to bone marrow transplant, except the stem cells are harvested from the patient's bloodstream rather than from the bone marrow.
There isn't a cure for leukemia, but this doesn't mean some people don't achieve long-term remission. Being cured of leukemia means that the cancer's gone, it's not coming back and no more treatment is needed — but this is hard to know for sure with leukemia.
Of the four common types of leukemia in adults, acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) occur most frequently. Other related blood cancers include myeloproliferative neoplasms and systemic mastocytosis.
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the most fatal type of leukemia. The five-year survival rate (how many people will be alive five years after diagnosis) for AML is 29.5%. Leukemia is a cancer that usually affects white blood cells, though it can start in other types of blood cells.
This page was reviewed on September 7, 2022. Leukemia and lymphoma are easily confused because they're both types of blood cancer. Leukemia usually occurs in bone marrow, while lymphoma originates in the lymphatic system and mainly targets lymph nodes and lymph tissue.
The top 3 "worst" cancers, often defined by the highest number of deaths globally, are consistently lung cancer, colorectal cancer, and liver cancer, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and other health organizations, with pancreatic cancer also frequently cited as extremely deadly due to poor survival rates. Lung cancer causes the most fatalities worldwide, followed by colon/rectum and liver cancers, though specific rankings can vary slightly by year and region.
Leukemia symptoms include: Weakness, tiredness and fatigue. This can be caused by the leukemia itself or by the low levels of hemoglobin seen in many leukemia patients. Fever and frequent infections due to low counts of healthy white blood cells.
Complete blood count. A complete blood count (CBC) is the first test for diagnosing and monitoring leukemia. You will likely get multiple CBC tests throughout your treatment if you have leukemia. Your results help your doctors understand if your disease is advancing or how your body is responding to treatments.
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is often a silent disease during the initial stages, with many patients having no noticeable symptoms. CLL is commonly detected by accident when routine blood testing reveals an elevated lymphocyte count (lymphocytosis).
Leukemia is a cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow. Two significant late indicators are persistent anemia and increased susceptibility to infections. Common signs of leukemia include fever, fatigue, and easy bleeding or bruising. Timely recognition of advanced changes is vital for better care outcomes.
Major causes of death in acute leukemia were infection in 70% of patients and hemorrhage in 52%.
Weight loss - Unexplained loss of over 10% of body weight over the course of a 6-month period of time may indicate CLL is progressing. Extreme tiredness - Extreme fatigue or shortness of breath while doing normal day-to-day activities should be a sign of concern.