What are the different types of childhood leukemia?
The most common type of leukemia in children is acute lymphocytic (or lymphoblastic) leukemia or ALL, which is further characterized as pre-B, B, or T-cell ALL. Childhood acute myeloid leukemia or AML is less common. “Acute” means that the diseases progress rapidly. The chronic forms of these leukemias, CLL and CML respectively, are seen almost solely in adults. In general, acute leukemias are most prevalent in children and are therefore often referred to as “childhood leukemias”. ALL: acute lymphocytic leukemia (pre-B, B, or T-cell). ALL NCI PDQ AML: acute myeloid leukemia AML NCI PDQ About 5% of childhood leukemias are distinct types of chronic myeloid leukemias. Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML, NCI PDQ) occurs primarily in children aged 2 or under. Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL, NCI PDQ) is a distinct subtype of AML. A good starting point for research into these and other less common childhood leukemias is on the cancer.gov myeloid leukemias page. A rare type of leukemia
