Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (all)

[Gregory]

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is a life-threatening disease in which the cells that normally develop into lymphocytes become cancerous and rapidly replace normal cells in the bone marrow.

People may have symptoms, such as fever, weakness, and paleness, because they have too few normal blood cells.
Blood tests and a bone marrow evaluation are usually done.
Chemotherapy is given and is often effective.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) occurs in people of all ages but is the most common cancer in children, accounting for 75% of all leukemias in children younger than 15 years. ALL most often affects young children between the ages of 2 and 5 years. Among adults, it is somewhat more common in people older than 45.
In ALL, very immature leukemia cells accumulate in the bone marrow, destroying and replacing cells that produce normal blood cells. The leukemia cells are carried in the bloodstream to the liver, spleen, lymph nodes, brain, and testes, where they may continue to grow and divide. However, ALL cells can accumulate anywhere in the body. They can spread to the layers of tissue covering the brain and spinal cord (leukemic meningitis) and cause anemia, liver and kidney failure, and other organ damage.