What is acute lymphoblastic leukemia ?
Acute leukemias are uncontrolled proliferations of malignant, immature cells (known as blasts) of the hematopoietic system. In the hematopoietic system, different types of blood cells are developing from one basic cell type (pluripotent stem cell, which is located in the bone marrow). The blood cells develop step by step, becoming more and more mature. Only at the end of their development, they are ready to play their role in immune defense. Sometimes the regularly mechanisms of this system are failing. In contrast with chronic leukemias, acute leukemias usually develop in only a few weeks and rapidly lead to the appearance of symptoms, severe in some cases, making diagnosis and rapid treatment extremely important. There are two large groups of acute leukemias: acute lymphoblastic leukemias (ALL) and acute myeloblastic leukemias (AML) and within each of these two large groups there are numerous subtypes based on the characteristics which each malignant immature cell has. In the cases o
