Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) (synonyms: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia; Acute lymphoid leukemia; Acute lymphocytic leukemia; Burkitt cell leukemia; Lymphoblastic leukemia; Lymphoblastic leukemia; ICD-10-GM C91.0-: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia [ALL]) is a malignant neoplasm of the hematopoietic system (hemoblastosis).
Three different immunologic subtypes can be distinguished:
- Pre-B ALL (75%)
- B-cell ALL (5%)
- T-cell ALL (20%)
ALL occurs in 90% of cases in childhood. It is the most common cancer in childhood (1-18 years) with circa 30%. In adults, ALL is very rare.
Sex ratio: boys to girls is 1.2: 1.
Peak incidence: the maximum incidence of acute lymphoblastic leukemia is between the ages of 2 and 5 years. The median age at diagnosis is 4.7 years. In the elderly, the incidence increases again slightly.
The incidence (frequency of new cases) in the age group up to 15 years is approximately 3.3 cases per 100,000 children per year. In adults, the incidence is 1.5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants per year.
Course and prognosis: Acute leukemia develops rapidly. It is characterized by severe symptoms. In this disease, the immune system is severely weakened, making patients very susceptible to infections. If the disease is not treated, it leads to death after a few weeks due to infections or bleeding. The older the age and general condition of the affected person, the worse the prognosis.If the disease is diagnosed in childhood, the prognosis is good. Patients are curable in about 90% (B-cell ALL: > 90%) of cases. The 20 % of those who relapse (recurrence of the disease) then still have a cure rate of about 25-40 %. Once therapy is complete, the focus is on long-term follow-up to detect recurrence early.
