Acute leukemia resident survival guide

Acute leukemia Resident Survival Guide
Overview
Causes
FIRE
Diagnosis
Treatment
Do's
Don'ts

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1];

Synonyms and keywords: Acute lymphocytic leukemia, Acute myeloid leukemia, ALL, AML

Overview

Acute Leukemia is a malignancy of bone marrow myeloid and lymphoblastic precursor cells, in which poorly differentiated hematopoietic cells proliferate rapidly. Hence, their accumulation would disrupt the performance of bone marrow to produce normal blood cells

• 
• 

Causes

AML and ALL are life-threatening diseases, which would result in death if left untreated. In the majority of cases, etiology is not apparent.

Common Causes of AML

• Gene mutations:FLT3, IDHI, IDH2, KRAS, DNMT3A, NPM1
• Chromosomal translocations, deletions, and inversions
• Benzene or radiation exposure chronically

Common Causes of ALL

• Radiation exposure:
• Genetic disorders; e.g., Down syndrome, ataxia-telangiectasia, Fanconi anemia
• Certain infections: e.g., HTLV-1

FIRE

Diagnosis

Treatment

Do's

Don'ts

References