Acute Leukaemia Dr Soheir Adam MRCPath Assistant Professor

Acute Leukaemia Dr. Soheir Adam, MRCPath Assistant Professor Department of Haematology, KAUH

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia n n ALL is a malignant clonal disorder in which early lymphoid precursors proliferate and replace normal marrow cells. Pathophysiology Lymphoid precursors are arrested in the early stages of development. This arrest is caused by an abnormal expression of genes, often due to chromosomal translocations.

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia n Incidence - ALL is the most common cancer of childhood - In adults it is more common in men - It is less common in adults than AML

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia n Presentation - Symptoms related to depletion of normal marrow elements e. g. anaemia, bleeding - Bone pain due to infiltration of bone marrow by leukaemic cells - Organomegaly: splenomegaly - T-ALL can present with a mediastinal mass - Fever and/or weight loss

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia n Physical Examination - Signs of anaemia / infection - Lymphadenopathy / organomegaly - Petechiae / ecchymosis due to low platelets - Signs of CNS or testicular involvement - Less commonly signs of hyperleukostasis like mental confusion and headache

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia n Laboratory Investigation - CBC - Peripheral smear - LDH and uric acid - LFT - U&Es - Blood cultures

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia n Radiological Investigation - CXR - Chest CT - Abdominal US - ECG & MUGA scan

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia n n n Bone marrow aspiration & trephine biopsy - Morphology - Cytochemistry - Flowcytometry - Cytogenetic analysis Lumbar puncture Testicular ultrasound

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia n n Cytochemical Stains - Myeloperoxidase negative - Tdt positive Immunophenotyping - Detects B or T antigens expresed on the surface of blast cells =, antibodies are given CD numbers - Some ALL cells co-express myeloid markers

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia n Cytogenetic Analysis Determines prognosis and determines treatment plan Bad prognostic chromosomal abnormalities e. g. t(9, 22), t(4, 11), t(8, 14), t(2, 8) & t(8, 22) Good prognosis with oter abnormalities e. g. t(10, 14), hyperdiploidly > 50 and near tetraploidy Philidelphia chromosome t(9, 22) is found in 10 - 15% of adults and 2 -5% of children with ALL

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia Management n 1 - Chemotherapy - Induction - Consolidation - Late intensification - Maintenance

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia Management n 2 – CNS prophylaxis - Intrathecal chemotherapy - Cranial irradiation - Systemic chemotherapy - If CNS disease IT chemotherapy twice weekly until 3 consecutive clear CSF samples

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia Management n 3 – Bone marrow transplantation - Offered to young patients with high risk features who are in first remission - Young patients with no high risk features should be considered for BMT when in relapse - Older patients should be offered nonmyeloablative BMT within clinical trials

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia Management n 4 – Mature B-ALL - Burkitt-like leukaemia - Not considered for early transplant as before - Special chemotherapy protocols are used in such cases - Hyper-CVAD regimen produces 81% CR and 61% event-free survival at 3 years

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia Management n 5 – Supportive care - PRBCs transfusion if Hb < 9 g/dl - Platelets transfusion if < 20, 000 or if patient is actively bleeding - Antibiotics for febrile neutropenia (gram negative organisms coverage) - Growth factors reduce the nadir and duration of neutropenia - Pneumocystis carinii prophylaxis