Leukemia is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called blasts or leukemia cells. Symptoms may include bleeding and bruising, bone pain, fatigue, fever, and an increased risk of infections. These symptoms occur due to a lack of normal blood cells. Diagnosis is typically made by blood tests or bone marrow biopsy.
Tumors of the hematopoietic and lymphoid tissues or tumours of the haematopoietic and lymphoid tissues are tumors that affect the blood, bone marrow, lymph, and lymphatic system. Because these tissues are all intimately connected through both the circulatory system and the immune system, a disease affecting one will often affect the others as well, making aplasia, myeloproliferation and lymphoproliferation closely related and often overlapping problems. While uncommon in solid tumors, chromosomal translocations are a common cause of these diseases. This commonly leads to a different approach in diagnosis and treatment of hematological malignancies. Hematological malignancies are malignant neoplasms ("cancer"), and they are generally treated by specialists in hematology and/or oncology. In some centers "hematology/oncology" is a single subspecialty of internal medicine while in others they are considered separate divisions. Not all hematological disorders are malignant ("cancerous"); these other blood conditions may also be managed by a hematologist.
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a cancer of the lymphoid line of blood cells characterized by the development of large numbers of immature lymphocytes. Symptoms may include feeling tired, pale skin color, fever, easy bleeding or bruising, enlarged lymph nodes, or bone pain. As an acute leukemia, ALL progresses rapidly and is typically fatal within weeks or months if left untreated.
Acute leukemia or acute leukaemia is a family of serious medical conditions relating to an original diagnosis of leukemia. In most cases, these can be classified according to the lineage, myeloid or lymphoid, of the malignant cells that grow uncontrolled, but some are mixed and for those such an assignment is not possible.
Lymphoid leukemias are a group of leukemias affecting circulating lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell. The lymphocytic leukemias are closely related to lymphomas of the lymphocytes, to the point that some of them are unitary disease entities that can be called by either name. Such diseases are all lymphoproliferative disorders. Most lymphoid leukemias involve a particular subtype of lymphocytes, the B cells.
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a cancer of the myeloid line of blood cells, characterized by the rapid growth of abnormal cells that build up in the bone marrow and blood and interfere with normal blood cell production. Symptoms may include feeling tired, shortness of breath, easy bruising and bleeding, and increased risk of infection. Occasionally, spread may occur to the brain, skin, or gums. As an acute leukemia, AML progresses rapidly, and is typically fatal within weeks or months if left untreated.
Cluster of differentiation antigen 135 (CD135) also known as fms like tyrosine kinase 3, receptor-type tyrosine-protein kinase FLT3, or fetal liver kinase-2 (Flk2) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the FLT3 gene. FLT3 is a cytokine receptor which belongs to the receptor tyrosine kinase class III. CD135 is the receptor for the cytokine Flt3 ligand (FLT3L).
ETV6 protein is a transcription factor that in humans is encoded by the ETV6 gene. The ETV6 protein regulates the development and growth of diverse cell types, particularly those of hematological tissues. However, its gene, ETV6 frequently suffers various mutations that lead to an array of potentially lethal cancers, i.e., ETV6 is a clinically significant proto-oncogene in that it can fuse with other genes to drive the development and/or progression of certain cancers. However, ETV6 is also an anti-oncogene or tumor suppressor gene in that mutations in it that encode for a truncated and therefore inactive protein are also associated with certain types of cancers.
Hepatic leukemia factor is a protein that in humans is encoded by the HLF gene.
Biphenotypic acute leukaemia (BAL) is an uncommon type of leukemia which arises in multipotent progenitor cells which have the ability to differentiate into both myeloid and lymphoid lineages. It is a subtype of "leukemia of ambiguous lineage".
Childhood leukemia is leukemia that occurs in a child and is a type of childhood cancer. Childhood leukemia is the most common childhood cancer, accounting for 29% of cancers in children aged 0–14 in 2018. There are multiple forms of leukemia that occur in children, the most common being acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) followed by acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Survival rates vary depending on the type of leukemia, but may be as high as 90% in ALL.
Clara Derber Bloomfield, was an American physician and cancer researcher. Her work focused on the genetic changes that are present in certain types of blood cancers, and how those can be utilized to improve treatment for the affected patients.
Microtransplantation (MST) is an advanced technology to treat malignant hematological diseases and tumors by infusing patients with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) mobilized human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-mismatched allogeneic peripheral blood stem cells following a reduced-intensity chemotherapy or targeted therapy. The term "microtransplantation" comes from its mechanism of reaching donor cell microchimerism.
PR-104 is a drug from the class of hypoxia-activated prodrugs (HAPs), which is being researched as a potential anti-cancer therapeutic agent. It is a phosphate ester “pre-prodrug” that is rapidly converted to the HAP PR-104A in the body. PR-104A is in turn metabolised to reactive nitrogen mustard DNA crosslinking agents in hypoxic tissues such as found in solid tumours. Following initial clinical studies, it was discovered that PR-104A is also activated by the enzyme AKR1C3, independently of hypoxia. Hypoxia in the bone marrow of patients with leukaemia, and high activity of AKR1C3 in some leukaemia subtypes has led to interest in clinical trials of PR-104 in relapsed refractory acute leukaemias.
Tessa Laurie Holyoake, was a Scottish haematology-oncology physician. She specialised in chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), and discovered its stem cell. She was considered a world leading expert in leukaemia research.
Christine J. Harrison is a Professor of Childhood Cancer Cytogenetics at Newcastle University. She works on acute leukemia and used cytogenetics to optimise treatment protocols.
Mixed-phenotype acute leukemia (MPAL) is a group of blood cancers (leukemia) which have combined features of myeloid and lymphoid cancers. It is a rare disease, constituting about 2–5% of all leukemia cases. It mostly involve myeloid with either of T lymphocyte or B lymphocyte progenitors, but in rare cases all the three cell lineages. Knowledge on the cause, clinical features and cellular mechanism is poor, making the treatment and management (prognosis) difficult.
T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a type of acute lymphoblastic leukemia with aggressive malignant neoplasm of the bone marrow. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a condition where immature white blood cells accumulate in the bone marrow, subsequently crowding out normal white blood cells and create build-up in the liver, spleen, and lymph nodes. The two most common types of ALL are B-lymphocytes and T-lymphocytes, where the first protects the body against viruses and bacteria through antibody production which can directly destroy target cells or trigger others to do so, whilst the latter directly destroy bacteria or cells infected with viruses. Approximately 20% of all ALL patients are categorized specifically to suffer from T-ALL and it is seen to be more prevalent in the adult population in comparison to children, with incidences shown to diminish with age. Amongst T-ALL cases in the pediatric population, a median onset of age 9 has been identified and the disease is particularly prominent amongst adolescents. The disease stems from cytogenic and molecular abnormalities, resulting in disruption of developmental pathways controlling thymocyte development, tumor suppressor development, and alterations in control of cell growth and proliferation. Distinct from adult T-cell leukemia where T-cell lymphotropic virus Type I causes malignant maturation of T-cells, T-ALL is a precursor for lymphoid neoplasm. Its clinical presentation most commonly includes infiltration of the central nervous system (CNS), and further identifies mediastinal mass presence originating from the thymus, along with extramedullary involvement of multiple organs including the lymph node as a result of hyperleukocytosis.
Nirali N. Shah is an American physician-scientist and pediatric hematologist-oncologist, serving as head of the hematologic malignancies section of the pediatric oncology branch at the National Cancer Institute. She researches the translation of immunotherapeutic approaches to treat high-risk hematologic malignancies in children, adolescents and young adults.
The LL-100 panel is a group of 100 human leukemia and lymphoma cell line, can be used in model of biomedical research.
