Essay Example on Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in Infants and Children

Northcentral Technical College Abstract Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is one of the most commonly diagnosed in children The peak ages for diagnosis is 2 years to 6 years old Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia ALL is a type of cancer that starts with the early versions of white blood cells also called lymphocytes in the bone marrow Immature leukemia cells will reproduce and build up and without treatment most people will only live a few months However more than half of the types of acute leukemia respond well to treatment This means many patients can be cured Acute lymphoblastic leukemia treatment has come a long way and can now cure nearly 90 of patients Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia ALL is a type of cancer that starts with the early versions of white blood cells also called lymphocytes in the bone marrow The bone marrow is the soft inner part of the bones where new blood cells are made Leukemia cells tend to invade the blood rather quickly They can spread to other parts of the body This can include but is not limited to the lymph nodes liver spleen and central nervous system The term acute simply means that leukemia can progress quickly If it is not treated it can turn fatal within a few months Lymphocytic means that it develops from immature lymphocytes white blood cells 

Before we dive into the research on acute lymphoblastic leukemia I want to give you a little background on the difference between acute leukemia and chronic leukemia In chronic leukemia the cells can mature partly but not completely This means they do not fight infections as well as fully mature white blood cells Chronic leukemia cells also live longer This gives them time to build up and crowd out the normal cells They progress over a longer period of time so most people with chronic leukemia can live for years but chronic leukemia is harder to cure On the flip side we have acute leukemia In acute leukemia bone marrow cells cannot mature fully or properly Immature leukemia cells will reproduce and build up and without treatment most people will only live a few months However more than half of the types of acute leukemia respond well to treatment This means many patients can be cured Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is the most common malignancy diagnosed in children Kanwar 2017 Because ALL is the most commonly diagnosed this represents more than 25 of all pediatric cancers There are many signs and symptoms of acute lymphoblastic leukemia The most common signs and symptoms are bleedings from the gums bone pain fever frequent infections frequent or severe nosebleeds lumps caused by swollen lymph nodes in and around the neck underarm abdomen groin pale skin shortness of breath and weakness fatigue or a general decrease in energy While these are all signs and symptoms of acute lymphoblastic leukemia they are also symptoms of many other infections viruses and childhood illnesses These particular signs and symptoms tend to mimic those of the flu There are many things that can put you at a higher risk factor for acute lymphoblastic leukemia Some examples of potential risk factors are exposure to radiation exposure to high levels of specific chemicals genetic conditions severe congenital neutropenia and having a sibling with a history of acute lymphoblastic leukemia 

See Figure 1 for more information on potential risk factors Figure 1 Note U S Pharm by Yvette C Terri May 17 2016 https www uspharmacist com article advances in the treatment of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia There are also factors that can affect prognosis and treatment options for pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia These factors can include age sex race obesity Down syndrome the value of WBC at diagnosis the presence of leukemia cells in the cerebrospinal fluid and rate and level of the leukemia cell count after the first or second phases of treatment Please see Figure 2 for more information on the factors affecting prognosis and treatment Figure 2 Note U S Pharm by Yvette C Terri May 17 2016 https www uspharmacist com article advances in the treatment of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is the most commonly diagnosed childhood cancer Our treatments have come such a long way that almost 90 of children are treated and or cured by treatment This does not mean that there are a few children with cancer left There are still so many children with many forms of cancer but with this improvement in our technology and medicine I have high hopes for the future of our children that are living with cancer REFERENCES Hunger S P Mullighan C G 2015 October 15 Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in Children The New England Journal of Medicine Retrieved from http www nejm org doi full 10 1056 NEJMra1400972 Kanwar V S 2017 September 05 Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Retrieved from https emedicine medscape com article 990113 overview About Kids Health 2012 March 23 All About ALL Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Video File Retrieved from https www youtube com watch v _Mls5TViEhg