What is Acute lymphocytic leukemia :
The white blood cells are the cells involved in the body’s defense. Within find different types of leukocytes such as polymorphonuclear leukocytes, lymphocytes or monocytes, each with a specific function within the immune system.
Leukocytes originate in the bone marrow cells from immature blasts that are known to create differentiating different types of leukocytes. When this occurs, for different reasons, a loss of control mechanisms of proliferation of these white blood cells of leukemia speech, cancer blasts leukocytes and their precursors.
Depending on the type of blasts in leukemia involving lymphatic leukemias are distinguished, if involved lymphoblasts, precursors of lymphocytes, or myeloid leukemias, whether they are the precursors of red blood cells, platelets and leukocytes from other cells that cause cancer.
Also, depending on your establishment and the proportion of mature and immature cells involved in leukemia, it may be acute, with a predominance of immature forms and rapid evolution, or chronic, with a greater number of mature cells and slower progression.
Therefore, when a patient suffers from a hematologic cancer cells where there is a predominance of immature precursor cells of lymphocytes, said pathology is classified as acute lymphocytic leukemia.
How does it occur ?
Acute lymphocytic leukemia is more common in childhood than in adult life, with a higher incidence peak between 2 and 4 years old. It can appear in adulthood, which implies a worse prognosis.
Factors to be considered as possible causes of this type of leukemias include
genetic factors, namely, alterations in the chromosomes that predispose to the development of these diseases.
ionizing radiation, as in the case of high-dose radiotherapy or exposure to uncontrolled nuclear radiation.
Certain chemicals such as benzene, alkylating agents, nitrosoureas or chloramphenicol.
Infections some types of virus, specifically certain retroviruses.
The exposure to these risk factors as well as the existing genetic predisposition makes occurring mutations in certain genes, especially those that control both cell proliferation mechanisms, the ability of the cells to replicate, as in the genes responsible for mediating programmed cell death, the process by which cells depleted, old and sick die to make way for new cells. If these mechanisms are altered, there will be an excessive formation of cells that are immature, they will play before reaching maturity, and also not subject to programmed cell death, so it will still play constantly. This is common to all cancers, is also given in acute lymphatic leukemia.
As lymphoblasts being played uncontrollably generated in the bone marrow, these cells will occupy the entire marrow space so that the other cells unaffected be diminished in number and reproduce least why in lymphatic leukemia can acute anemia, thrombocytopenia and decreased leukocytes that are not affected by cancer.
Cancerous lymphoblasts enter the blood and from there can colonize other territories, primarily lymph lymphatic system, but also the spleen, liver or other organs.
In acute lymphatic leukemia differ:
Type 1, with small lymphoblasts, representing 75% of cases and has the best prognosis.
Type 2 with large lymphoblasts, occurs in 20% of cases .
Type 3 with precursor B cells, is only 5% of acute lymphatic leukemias, also called acute lymphocytic leukemia, Burkitt.
Acute lymphocytic leukemia Symptoms
Symptoms are in place abruptly and progress rapidly. You can get an initial clinical fatigue, lack of appetite and weight loss. The occupation of the bone marrow and the subsequent decline in the production of both mature erythrocytes and leukocytes and platelets will cause a state of anemia (which entail fatigue, pallor, malaise and other abnormalities), recurrent infections due defenses deficit and hemorrhagic processes by coagulation defects secondary to thrombocytopenia.
Also, when lymphoblasts leave the bloodstream and colonize other organs, lymph nodes can be seen, ie, enlarged lymph nodes, liver and spleen. Lymphoblasts also invade other organs, such as the central nervous system, the testes, or thymus.
Sometimes because of the excessive proliferation of cancer cells may be bone pain and these may suffer fractures.
Acute lymphocytic leukemia Diagnosis
In patients who present a picture of sudden onset of weakness, loss of appetite and weight loss associated with recurrent infections or bleeding problems should be ruled out acute leukemia, lymphatic type especially children. They perform a blood test, which generally appreciated an increase in blood leukocytes, as when performing analytical counted as mature forms both lymphoblasts, although the total number of leukocytes may also appear diminished if not immature forms have reached out to the blood. When separate study, we see that the leukocytes is increased especially at the expense of a greater number of lymphoblasts. Also, you can see a decrease in the number of red blood cells and platelets. It must be said, however, that up to 10% of acute lymphatic leukemia may present an analytic within normality.
Confirmation of the diagnosis provide the bone marrow biopsy, which will see a higher proportion of 30% lymphoblasts. Different genetic and biochemical tests allow help determine the subtype of acute lymphatic leukemia suffered by the patient.
Imaging tests such as ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography allow assessing the involvement of other organs.
Acute lymphocytic leukemia Treatment
Treatment based on chemotherapy, searching it completely cure the patient, obtaining normalized figures leukocytes, erythrocytes and platelets fall below 5% lymphoblasts in the presence of blood.
Initially apply powerful chemotherapy for about a month and if achieved remission of leukemia will be a maintenance chemotherapy between one and two years. Given the frequency of metastasis to the level of the meninges, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are applied on the central nervous system.
They are good prognostic factors that leukemia is given at an early age (except if given in the first year of life), the absence of lymph or other affected organs, a low number of blood leukocytes and that the complete remission 4-5 weeks of treatment with chemotherapy.
Precautions
The only measures to avoid suffering an acute lymphatic leukemia would avoid massive exposure to radiation and certain chemicals carcinogenic.