The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has partnered with Medicine X to create To learn more about the diagnosis, treatment options, monitoring, and quality of life issues associated with adult ALL, please click here. Available in English and Spanish. Click here to access ALL statistics. Click here to access information about ALL in children and teens. Interactive Information about ALL
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia [ALL] Xplained, which uses storytelling to provide
patients with a greater understanding of living with adult ALL.What You Should Know
What You Should Do
How Does ALL Develop?
ALL results from either an acquired or a genetic injury to the DNA [genetic material] of a developing stem cell in the bone marrow.
- Stem cells form blood cells [white cells, red cells and platelets].
- Although ALL starts in a stem cell in the bone marrow, it can spread to other areas such as the central nervous system, the lymph nodes and, more rarely, the testes.
This damaged cell becomes a leukemic cell and multiplies uncontrollably into billions of cells called leukemic lymphoblasts.
- Leukemic lymphoblasts
- Do not function normally
- Block the production of normal cells
- Grow and survive better than normal cells
As a result, the number of healthy blood cells [red cells, white cells and platelets] is usually lower than normal.
- Anemia is a condition when there is a low number of red cells in the blood which can cause fatigue and shortness of breath.
- Neutropenia is a condition when there is a low number of white cells so that the immune system can't effectively guard against infection due to a lack of neutrophils [a type of white cell].
- Thrombocytopenia is a condition when there is a low number of platelets which can cause bleeding and easy bruising with no apparent cause.
- Low numbers of all three blood cell counts is called pancytopenia.
Risk Factors
Doctors don't know why some cells become leukemic cells and others don't. Usually DNA mutations associated with ALL occur during a person's lifetime rather than being inherited from a parent. For most people who have acute lymphoblastic leukemia [ALL], there are no obvious reasons why they developed the disease.
Risk factors associated with the disease include:
- Previous exposure to chemotherapy and radiation therapy
- Genetic disorders including: Down syndrome, neurofibromatosis, Klinefelter syndrome, Fanconi anemia, Schwachman-Diamond syndrome, Bloom syndrome and ataxia telangiectasia have been associated with an increased risk of developing ALL.
- Age. Children, adolescents or adults older than 70 years are at greater risk of developing ALL.
- Sex. Males are more likely to develop ALL than females.
- Race/ethnicity. In the United States, ALL is more common in Hispanics and whites.
Currently, there's no way to prevent the disease. You can't catch ALL from someone else.
Source: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia [ALL] in Adults. Reviewed by Ryan D. Cassaday, MD
Ch 30 Questions1.1.ID: 18662096801Which term describes a higher-than-normal white blood cell count?A.LeukopeniaB.LeukocytosisCorrectLeukocytosis is an increase in the number of leukocytes or white blood cells in the blood. A decrease inthe number of white blood cells is termedleukopenia. Granulocytosis is an increase in the number ofgranulocytes [neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils] in the blood. The neutrophil is the most numerous of thegranulocytes, and the termgranulocytosisis often used in place of neutrophilia.
C.GranulocytosisD.NeutrophiliaAwarded 1.0 points out of 1.0 possible points.2.2.ID: 18662096297Which form of leukemia is the most commonly observed in children?
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Awarded 0.0 points out of 1.0 possible points.3.3.ID: 18662096289Which molecular anomaly with acute lymphoblastic leukemia carries the worst prognosis?
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