Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL)
Author: Dipl.-Biol. Maria Yiallouros, erstellt 2006/04/14, Editor: Dipl.-Psych. Elène Misbach, Reviewer: Dr. med. Ralf Herold, English Translation: Heidi Krumlandzuletzt geändert: 2009/08/12 , Kurz-URL: www.kinderkrebsinfo.de/all
Leukaemias are malignant diseases of the bone marrow. With about 33% of all malignant diseases they are the most common cancers in childhood and adolescence. The most frequently occurring leukaemia in children and adolescents is the acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) with about 80%. With about 20%, the acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) occurs considerably more seldom. The following text on acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is intended for patients and their families and should help explain this disease and its treatment options.
The acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), also known as acute lymphatic leukaemia, is a malignant disease of the bone marrow. With about 80%, the ALL is the most common form of leukaemia among children and adolescents and accounts for about one third of all cancers in this age group. According to data from the German Childhood Cancer Registry in Mainz, each year about 500 children and adolescents between 0 and 14 years are affected by acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. The entire number of new ALL patients per year in the age group of up to 18 years is 550 to 600. ALL can occur at any age, also in adults. The most affected group is however children aged between one and five years. Boys are slightly more affected than girls. [KAA2005‎].
The ALL develops quickly. Without treatment, leukaemic cells proliferate throughout the body within a short time. They disrupt the normal production of blood cells in the bone marrow, damage organs and consequently will result in severe diseases which – if they remain untreated – will lead to death within a few months.
Once ALL has been diagnosed, however, hope should not be abandoned. After all, the treatment has improved markedly during the past decades. Whereas the disease’s progress could hardly be influenced in the 1950s and 1960s (the average survival of a child suffering from ALL was about four months), nowadays modern diagnostic methods and standardised treatment schedules (combination chemotherapy) make it possible to cure almost 80% of the affected children permanently. [BRE2001‎] [SCH2000f‎] [PUI2004‎].
Explanatory note regarding the text
The following text on acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is written for patients and their families. It is intended to explain the disease and its treatment options. It cannot substitute the necessary conversations with the physicians in charge and other members of the treatment team. However, the information might help to prepare such conversations and to improve understanding. The text was written based on the bibliography listed below and on the updated guidelines for treatment of children and adolescents with ALL (therapy optimising trials ALL-BFM 2000, COALL-07-03 and ALL-REZ BFM 2002). Further bibliographic information is cited in the text. The text was reviewed by the above-mentioned editors on 11 October 2005 and approved for publication on the Internet for the period of one year. It is intended to be revised and updated this year.
Basisliteratur 
- Creutzig U, Schrappe M: Acute leukemia in childhood. Classification--diagnosis--therapy--prognosis. Internist (Berl) 1996, 37: 982 [PMID: 9019456]
- Gutjahr P: Krebs bei Kindern und Jugendlichen. Deutscher Ärzte-Verlag Köln 5. Aufl. 2004 [ISBN: 3769104285
- Henze G: Leukämien, in Gutjahr P: Krebs bei Kindern und Jugendlichen. Deutscher Ärzte-Verlag Köln 5. Aufl. 2004, 293 [ISBN: 3769104285
- Pui CH: Treatment of Acute Leukemias. New Directions for Clinical Research. Totowa, NJ: Humana Press Inc 2003 [ISBN: 0-89603-834-3
- Schrappe M, Creutzig U: Akute lymphoblastische (ALL) und akute myeloische (AML) Leukämie im Kindesalter. Interdisziplinäre Leitlinie der Deutschen Krebsgesellschaft und der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Pädiatrische Onkologie und Hämatologie. AWMF online 2005 [URI: http://www.uni-duesseldorf.de/AWMF/ll/025-014.htm]
[BRE2001] Brenner H, Kaatsch P, Burkhardt-Hammer T, Harms D, Schrappe M, Michaelis J: Long-term survival of children with leukemia achieved by the end of the second millennium. Cancer 2001, 92: 1977 [PMID: 11745273]
[SCH2000f] Schrappe M, Reiter A, Zimmermann M, Harbott J, Ludwig W, Henze G, Gadner H, Odenwald E, Riehm H: Long-term results of four consecutive trials in childhood ALL performed by the ALL-BFM study group from 1981 to 1995. Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster. Leukemia 2000, 14: 2205 [PMID: 11187912]
[PUI2004] Pui C, Schrappe M, Masera G, Nachman J, Gadner H, Eden O, Evans W, Gaynon P: Ponte di Legno Working Group. Leukemia 2004, 18: 1043 [PMID: 15085155]
