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.
Tretinoin, also known as all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), is a medication used for the treatment of acne and acute promyelocytic leukemia. For acne, it is applied to the skin as a cream, gel or ointment. For leukemia, it is taken by mouth for up to three months. Topical tretinoin is also the most extensively investigated retinoid therapy for photoaging.
Auer rods are large, crystalline cytoplasmic inclusion bodies sometimes observed in myeloid blast cells during acute myeloid leukemia, acute promyelocytic leukemia, high-grade myelodysplastic syndromes and myeloproliferative disorders. Composed of fused lysosomes and rich in lysosomal enzymes, Auer rods are azurophilic and can resemble needles, commas, diamonds, rectangles, corkscrews, or (rarely) granules.
Acute promyelocytic leukemia is a subtype of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a cancer of the white blood cells. In APL, there is an abnormal accumulation of immature granulocytes called promyelocytes. The disease is characterized by a chromosomal translocation involving the retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARA) gene and is distinguished from other forms of AML by its responsiveness to all-trans retinoic acid therapy. Acute promyelocytic leukemia was first characterized in 1957 by French and Norwegian physicians as a hyperacute fatal illness, with a median survival time of less than a week. Today, prognoses have drastically improved; 10-year survival rates are estimated to be approximately 80-90% according to one study.
Arsenic trioxide is an inorganic compound with the formula As
2O
3. As an industrial chemical, its major uses include the manufacture of wood preservatives, pesticides, and glass. It is sold under the brand name Trisenox among others when used as a medication to treat a type of cancer known as acute promyelocytic leukemia. For this use it is given by injection into a vein.
Jean Bernard was a French physician and haematologist. He was professor of haematology and director of the Institute for Leukaemia at the University of Paris. After graduating in medicine in Paris in 1926 he commenced his laboratory training with the bacteriologist Gaston Ramon at the Pasteur Institute in 1929.
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.
Wang Zhenyi, also known as Zhen-yi Wang, is a Chinese pathophysiologist and hematologist who is a professor emeritus of Medicine and Pathophysiology at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). He is most well known for discovering the cure for acute promyelocytic leukemia while working with Laurent Degos in France, using tretinoin on a trial of 24 patients at Ruijin Hospital in 1986.
A promyelocyte is a granulocyte precursor, developing from the myeloblast and developing into the myelocyte. Promyelocytes measure 12–20 microns in diameter. The nucleus of a promyelocyte is approximately the same size as a myeloblast but their cytoplasm is much more abundant. They also have less prominent nucleoli than myeloblasts and their chromatin is more coarse and clumped. The cytoplasm is basophilic and contains primary red/purple granules.
Retinoic acid receptor alpha (RAR-α), also known as NR1B1 is a nuclear receptor that in humans is encoded by the RARA gene.
Zinc finger and BTB domain-containing protein 16 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ZBTB16 gene.
Cytochrome P450 26A1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CYP26A1 gene.
PML-RARA-regulated adapter molecule 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the PRAM1 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".
Timothy J. Ley is an American hematologist and cancer biologist. He is the Lewis T. and Rosalind B. Apple Professor of Oncology in the department of medicine, and is chief of the section of stem cell biology in the division of oncology at Washington University in St. Louis. He is a member of the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center.
Differentiation therapy is a method to treating advanced cancers in which malignant cells are encouraged to differentiate into more mature forms using pharmacological agents. The basis of the therapy stems from the tendency of malignant tumor cells to assume a less specialized, stem cell-like dedifferentiated state.
Anne Dejean-Assémat is a French molecular biologist working on the mechanisms leading to the development of human cancers. Professor at the Pasteur Institute and Research Director at Inserm, she heads the laboratory of Nuclear Organization and Oncogenesis at the Pasteur Institute.
Hugues de Thé, is a French doctor and researcher. He is currently a hospital doctor and professor at the Collège de France, holder of the chair of cellular and molecular oncology (2014), member of the French Academy of sciences since 2011. His work, at the interface between biology and medicine, has radically transformed the management of a rare form of leukaemia, which has become the paradigm for targeted cancer treatments.
Alain Fischer is a doctor, professor of pediatric immunology and French researcher in biology.
