Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia

Introduction

Today one of the greatest, problems is cancer.It is one of the hardest diseases to overcome, and unfortunately it is quiet common in today's society. Cancer is something that not only requires medical attention, but also support from family and friends, because it is a long process to get back to good health, and it will most likely get worse before it gets better. A major type of cancer is Leukemia. It accounts for one third of the cancer reports each year. Many people think that if a person has leukemia, he or she is sure to die from it. What they don't understand is there are many types or leukemia, many different ways to treat it, and people who do survive from it. And as doctors say, there is always hope in modern medicine, and never give up.

Discussion

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a malignant (clonal) disease of the bone marrow in which early lymphoid precursors proliferate and replace the normal hematopoietic cells of the marrow. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) may be distinguished from other malignant lymphoid disorders by the immunophenotype of the cells, which is similar to B- or T-precursor cells. Immunochemistry, cytochemistry, and cytogenetic markers may also aid in categorizing the malignant lymphoid clone. (Hoffbrand,25)

The malignant cells of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) are lymphoid precursor cells (ie, lymphoblasts) that are arrested in an early stage of development. This arrest is caused by an abnormal expression of genes, often as a result of chromosomal translocations. The lymphoblasts replace the normal marrow elements, resulting in a marked decrease in the production of normal blood cells.(Zarrabi,1059) Consequently, anemia, thrombocytopenia, and neutropenia occur to varying degrees. The lymphoblasts also proliferate in organs other than the marrow, particularly the liver, spleen, and lymph nodes.

Facts About Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) present with either (1) symptoms relating to direct infiltration of the marrow or other organs by leukemic cells or (2) symptoms relating to the decreased production of normal marrow elements.

Fever is one of the most common symptoms of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

Patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) often have decreased neutrophil counts, regardless of whether their total white blood cell (WBC) count is low, normal, or elevated. As a result, they are at increased risk of infection. The prevalence and severity of infections are inversely correlated with the absolute neutrophil count (ANC), which is defined as the number of mature neutrophils plus bands per unit of volume. Infections are common when the absolute neutrophil count is less than 500/µL, and they are especially severe when it is less than 100/µL.

Patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) often have fever without any other evidence of infection. However, in these patients, one must assume that all fevers are from infections until proven otherwise, because a failure to treat infections promptly and aggressively can be fatal. Infections are still the most common cause of death in patients undergoing treatment for ALL.

Symptoms of anemia are common and include fatigue, dizziness, palpitations, and dyspnea upon even mild exertion. (Zarrabi,1059)

Other patients present ...