Medical Terminology: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Today I will be talking about three aspects of Leukemia; First what it is and one of the possible causes, Secondly what are the recognizable symptoms and what tests doctors use to identify leukemia in a young child. And what

Leukemia is a cancer of blood cells, specifically white blood cells that are responsible for fighting infection. However, the abnormal cells in leukemia do not function in the same way as normal white blood cells. Leukemia cells continue to grow and divide, eventually crowding out normal blood cells. The end result is that it becomes difficult for the body to fight infections, control bleeding and transport oxygen (Medicine Net, 2015). It is estimated that each year, approximately 30,800 individuals will be diagnosed with leukemia in the United

The primary pathophysiological etiology for signs, symptoms and laboratory findings in 4 year-old John’s case study are secondary splenomegaly as a result of primary Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). Because of its proximity to

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, is the disease that affects children the most and because of the abnormal cells that are immature white blood cells which cannot help the body fight infections cause children with the disease to often get infections and have fevers (National Cancer Institute, 2002, p. 1). The symptoms that the patient with ALL may have depend on the number of abnormal cells of the patient where exactly the cells collect. Children patients with ALL have low amounts of healthy red blood cells and platelets, which cause less oxygen to be carried through the body because of the lack of red blood cells. Patients at times may look pale, feel weak, and tired causing bleeding and bruising very easily because of their lack of enough platelets. This condition is called anemia. Anemia is very much common in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Fever, fatigue, bone or joint pain, tiny red spots under the skin called petechiae are a couple of symptoms that the disease ALL has. Headaches with, or without vomiting also may occur if patient happens to have abnormal cells collecting in the brain or spinal cord (National Cancer Institute, 2002 para. 2).

Leukemia broadly describes conditions that affect erythropoiesis in the bone marrow, lymphatic system, and spleen. As with all other cancers, leukemia begins from the mutation of DNA in certain cells. Classifications of leukemias are based on the age of onset and the leukocyte involved (Lewis et al. 2014, 665). The most common leukemia is chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), accounting for approximately 30% of cases in the United States (Copstead and Banasik 2013, 222). The normal function of the bone marrow, spleen, and liver becomes interrupted by the invasion of malignant lymphocytes (B cells); since the B cells are functionally inactive, a patient becomes more susceptible to infections. The sluggish progression of CLL unfortunately leads to late diagnoses and poor prognosis (Lewis et al. 2014, 665). Patients that become symptomatic in later stages will experience fatigue, weight loss, anorexia, and an increased susceptibility to infection, due to abnormal antibody production. Patient specific factors such as age, disease progression, and medication side effects will determine the course of treatment (Copstead and Banasik 2013, 223). The fragile state of patients with CLL requires continuous examination of drug therapy and interventions to prevent further complications.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is reported to be 75% of childhood leukemia. It is mostly occurs before age of 5 and to mostly boys. However this disease can occur to anyone throughout any point in their life. For adults it is most likely to occur to adults over the age of 50 years old. Throughout my research I discovered that children have a better odds of beating the cancer than adults would. Caucasian and Hispanic children are known to having a higher risk of being diagnosed with this disease. Each year, around 3,500 American children and adults are diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

In moderate cases, blood transfusions may help restore blood cell counts; however, transfusions may become less effective over time. In severe cases, treatments such as bone marrow transplant and stem cell therapy may be required to restore the ability of bone marrow to produce blood cells. Such treatments are generally effective in younger patients, but older patients may also require the use of immunosuppressant drugs or drugs that stimulate the bone marrow. In cases related to environmental factors, pancytopenia may resolve on its own when the precipitating factor is removed or the underlying condition is

The age-adjusted incidence of acute myeloid leukemia is 3.6 per 100000 persons per year, with a median age of 66 years at diagnosis. Whereas the outcome for patients with AML who are less than 60 years of age has improved over the past several decades, the major reasons for failure are primary refractoriness of the disease to initial chemotherapy or failure to maintain the complete state of remission.. Some patients have residual leukemic cells in their marrow even after intensive treatment. This is referred to as “refractory leukemia.” There are other patients who have a return of leukemia cells in the marrow and a decrease in normal blood cells after achieving a remission. This is referred to as “relapsed leukemia.” (Leukemia and Lymphoma Society 2011)

When someone has leukemia the white blood cells that form can not help the body fight off infections. With leukemia people might have frequent infections and have flu-like symptoms, such as fever and chills. If the cells multiply and move

The symptoms of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia usually begin slowly before rapidly getting severe as the number of blast cells in the blood increase. Most of the symptoms are caused by the lack healthy blood cells in the blood supply. Symptoms of this disease include: pale skin, feeling tired and/or breathless, having repeated infections over a short period of time, unusual and frequent bleeding, such as nosebleeds and bleeding gums, high temperatures, night sweats, bone and joint pain, easily bruised skin, swollen lymph nodes, abdominal pain caused by a swollen liver or spleen, unexplained weight loss, and a purple skin rash or also known as a purpura. The symptoms could relate to a different illness or maybe just a common cold. Although they are quite common, they could be a path to an extremely cruel

Overall, however, childhood leukemia is a rare disease. About 3 out of 4 leukemia among children and teens are Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. Most of the remaining cases are Myelogenous Leukemia. ALL is most common in early childhood, peaking between 2 and 4 years of age. Cases of AML are more spread out across the childhood years, but this type of Leukemia is slightly more common during the first 2 years of life and during the teenage years. ALL is slightly more common among Hispanic and white children than among African-American and Asian-American children, and it is more common in boys than in girls. Chronic Leukemia is rare in children, though. Most of these are Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia, which tends to occur more in teens than in younger children. Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia usually occurs in young children, with an average age of about 2. But digressing to Acute Myeloid Leukemia, the overall 5-year survival rate for children with AML has increased over time, and is now in the range of 60% to 70%. However, survival rates vary depending on the subtype of AML and other factors. For example, most studies suggest that the cure rate for acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL), a subtype of AML, is now higher than 80%, but rates are lower for some other subtypes of AML. Unfortunately, accurate survival rates for less common forms of childhood leukemia

When a parent takes their child to the doctor the last thing they want to hear is that their child has cancer. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for a child to be diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, also known as ALL. Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia is one of the most common forms of childhood cancer, and “makes up approximately 25% of cancer diagnoses among children under 15 years old” (3). Children under five years of age are at the most risk of developing ALL. Since it is an acute form of cancer once the onset has begun the disease quickly begins to worsen, therefore patients must seek treatment as soon as possible. “ALL is different than other diseases in that it is not just a single disease but also rather a group of related diseases with different subtypes”(1). This uniqueness causes the treatment of ALL to depend on the subtypes the patient has, therefore each

Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia is a scary disease. The term “acute” means the disease can quickly spread and progress quickly and can prove fatal in months if left untreated. “Lymphocytic” simply means that it develops from immature forms of lymphocytes. Also known as Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, or ALL for short, it is a type of cancer that starts from the early form of white blood cells called lymphocytes in the bone marrow. ALL is the most common form of cancer in children, though adults can get it as well. For children, treatment results in a good chance of a cure. Adults have a significantly smaller chance of a cure with ALL. ALL generally invades the blood very quickly and has the potential to spread to other body parts such as the spleen,

The four main categories leukemia: acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Acute leukemia is a disease which progresses rapidly producing underdeveloped cells. Due to their state, the produced cells are unable to perform their normal functions in the body. On the contrary, chronic leukemia is a disease with a slow progress and a high percentage of patient’s cells are mature. Therefore, these mature cells are able to function normally in the body. Cancerous change in the case of lymphoblastic leukemia starts in a marrow cell which produces lymphocytes whereas, in the case of myeloid leukemia, thechange caused by cancer starts in a marrow cell which produces red blood cells, platelets, and some types of white blood

Leukemia is an abnormal production of white blood cells (WBC) also known as leukocytes. When the leukocytes are functioning correctly it helps fight off infections. Unlike the regular leukocytes, abnormal leukocytes do not die when they are supposed to and this causes a problem in the balance of the blood. As this imbalance occurs, it becomes more difficult for the normal healthy blood particles to work correctly (Story, 2012). There are four different types of leukemia: acute myeloid leukemia, chronic myeloid leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and chronic lymphoid leukemia.