Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is a blood cancer that mainly affects the lymphocytic WBC, produced by the bone marrow. In this disease there are too many lymphocytes in the circulating blood. These lymphocytes basically are abnormal and cannot help the body in order to fight against infections. When any individual gets this disease, the marrow is not able to produce enough normal blood cells, which may lead to a set of debilitating signs and symptoms.
How Common is Childhood ALL
Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is considered a rare disease as it is responsible for affecting about 5 in every 100,000 children each year.
About 1 in 2,000 children will get the acute lymphoblastic leukaemia by the age of 15 years. An average respective healthcare provider will only see about 1 or 2 cases in their working life, which may lead to a delay in the detection of the diagnosis.
Although rare, acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is the most common sort of childhood leukaemia and is responsible for affecting boys slightly more often than the girls. Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is most often diagnosed in children b/w about 2 to 5-years old.
Causes of Childhood ALL:
In approximately all cases of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia the apparent cause is unspecified. A few cases are directly linked with the inherited genetic syndromes, such as Down syndrome, or certain circumstances that children are born with that affect the immune system, such as ataxia- telangiectasia and Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome.
The exposure to higher levels of radiation is responsible for increasing the risk of developing acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Several certain things have been considered as causes, including residing near power lines or nuclear power plants, mobile phones or phone masts and chemicals.
Most Common Symptoms of Childhood ALL: The most common symptoms of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia are fever and fatigue.
Children with this disease may also bruise or bleed easily, for instance, bleeding from the gums during brushing teeth.
The liver/spleen (part of the immune system) may be swollen, which may appear as a swollen stomach.
Lymph glands may be swollen. Children may experience bone/joint pains and, in very young children with ALL, the initial signs may be reluctance in order to walk/crawl.
Although, most children do not experience all of these signs and symptoms and a child may just be vaguely unwell, perhaps with paleness, tiredness or malaise. In case a child is extremely unwell, or is persistently unwell, they must be taken to the healthcare provider.
To summarise, the common symptoms and their causes are:
Anaemia: breathlessness, easy tiredness, looking pale.
Low white cell count: frequent, persistent infections.
Low numbers of platelets: bruising or bleeding
Diagnosis of childhood ALL: There are several tests, performed in order to confirm a diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Sometimes test outcomes may take a little bit while, and this particular time can be a little anxious as well as worrying, but remember that it is crucial that your child’s medical team reach the appropriate diagnosis so that your child can receive effective treatment. Tests may include:
Full blood count
Bone marrow examination
Additional investigations (cytogenetics, MRD, X-rays).
Treatment of Childhood ALL: Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is one of the most treatable cancers amongst children. Children with this cancer may not initiate treatment straight away because healthcare practitioners need the outcomes of tests in order to plan the appropriate and effective treatment. Any delay in initiating will be short and will not affect outcomes of the treatment.
Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy basically is a consideration of anti-cancer (cytotoxic) drugs in order to destroy cancerous cells. It is the major part of treatment for the acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in children. The most common cell killing medications used in order to treat acute lymphoblastic leukaemia are:
Vincristine
Mercaptopurine
Methotrexate
Daunorubicin
Cyclophosphamide
Cytarabine
Doxorubicin
Peg-Asparaginase
Apart from cytotoxic drugs, steroids are also known to be very effective in order to treat children with ALL. The steroid normally used in order to treat ALL is named dexamethasone.
NOTE: The piece of information mentioned about "A Guide On Childhood ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia)" in this article is just for informational purposes and is not served as a substitute for the medical treatment, consultation, diagnosis of an experienced or qualified healthcare professional.