Introduction
Leukemias, i.e. cancers of the white blood cells, are among the most common cancers in children, with the subtype ALL (acute lymphatic leukemia) being by far the most common. The disease usually manifests itself through anemia, an increased tendency to bleed and an increased tendency to infection. The diagnosis is usually made by a blood test and a bone marrow puncture. With an aggressive and fast therapy the chances of recovery are very good.
Definition
Leukemia, better known in the vernacular as “blood cancer” is the most common cancer disease in children and adolescents. It is the most common cancer among children and adolescents, accounting for about 34% of all childhood cancers. But what does one actually understand by leukemia?
The disease has its origin in the bone marrow, the place where blood is formed. There it comes to an uncontrolled release of immature precursor cells into the bloodstream. These leukemia cells, also called blasts, interfere with the complicated process of blood cell maturation and formation.
As a result, healthy blood cells, such as red blood cells (erythrocytes) or blood platelets (thrombocytes), can no longer be produced in sufficient quantities. The white blood cells (leukocytes), from whose cell line the functionless leukemia cells originate, are the source of their name. There are roughly two groups of leukemia types: acute and chronic leukemias.
Both groups are further divided into a) myeloid or b) lymphatic leukemias, so that in the end there are 4 large groups: Acute lymphatic leukemia, ALL for short, is the most common form of leukemia in children. Thus, only 10-20 % of all childhood leukemias are caused by other blood cancers! Overall, ALL accounts for as much as one third of all cancers in children and adolescents. In ALL, a malignant change takes place in precursor cells of the lymphocytes, a subgroup of the white blood cells.
- Acute myeloid leukemia (AML)
- Acute lymphatic leukemia (ALL)
- Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML)
- And Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)
