(Source: www.bethematch.org)
There are about 4,000 new cases of ALL in the United States each year. It appears most often in children younger than age 10. ALL is the most common leukemia in children. However, it can appear in people of any age — about one-third of cases are adults. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia may also be called acute lymphocytic leukemia or acute lymphoid leukemia.
Signs and symptoms
The symptoms a person with ALL has depend on how many normal blood cells he or she has. Symptoms also depend on how many leukemia cells there are and where they collect in the body.
- Red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body. Low numbers of red blood cells can lead to anemia -- feeling tired or weak, being short of breath and looking pale.
- White blood cells fight infections. Low numbers of white blood cells can lead to fever and frequent infections that are hard to treat.
- Platelets control bleeding. Low numbers of platelets can lead to cuts that heal slowly, easy bruising or bleeding and tiny red spots under the skin (petechiae).
- High numbers of leukemia cells can cause pain in the bones or joints, lack of appetite, headache or vomiting. These symptoms are less common.
Diagnosis
ALL is diagnosed when blood and bone marrow samples show a large number of abnormal lymphocyte blasts. To find out the type of ALL and how well it might respond to treatment, doctors test samples taken from the blood and bone marrow to learn:
- The size and number of leukemia cells.
- The type of lymphocyte affected — the leukemia cells can begin from one of two types of lymphocytes, B cells or T cells.
- What changes appear in the chromosomes of the leukemia cells. This is called cytogenetics.
Doctors also use a test called a lumbar puncture (or spinal tap) to find out whether there are leukemia cells in the fluid around the brain and spinal cord.
Based on these tests, doctors may categorize ALL into one of the following types:
- Early pre-B ALL
- Common ALL
- Pre-B-cell ALL
- Mature B-cell ALL (Burkitt leukemia)
- Pre-T-cell ALL
- Mature T-cell ALL
The type of ALL is one of several factors doctors use to plan treatment.