Acute lymphoblastic leukemia
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Raviteja Guddeti, M.B.B.S. [2] Carlos A Lopez, M.D. [3]
Synonyms and keywords: Acute lymphocytic leukemia, Acute lymphoid leukemia, ALL
Overview
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia was first described in 1827 by a french physician named Alfred-Armand-Louis-Marie Velpeau.
Historical Perspective
- The first published description of a case of leukemia in medical literature dates to 1827, when a French physician named Alfred-Armand-Louis-Marie Velpeau described a 63-year-old florist who developed an illness characterized by fever, weakness, urinary stones, and substantial enlargement of the liver and spleen. Velpeau noted that the blood of this patient had a consistency "like gruel", and speculated that the appearance of the blood was due to white corpuscles.[1]
- In 1845, a series of patients who died with enlarged spleens and changes in the "colors and consistencies of their blood" was reported by the Edinburgh-based pathologist J.H. Bennett; he used the term "leucocythemia" to describe this pathological condition.[2]
- The term "leukemia" was coined by Rudolf Virchow, the renowned German pathologist, in 1856. As a pioneer in the use of the light microscope in pathology, Virchow was the first to describe the abnormal excess of white blood cells in patients with the clinical syndrome described by Velpeau and Bennett. As Virchow was uncertain of the cause of the white blood cell excess, he used the purely descriptive term "leukemia" (Greek: "white blood") to refer to the condition.[3]
- Wilhelm Ebstein introduced the term "acute leukemia" in 1889 to differentiate rapidly progressive and fatal leukemias from the more indolent chronic leukemias.[4]
- The technique of bone marrow examination to diagnose leukemia was first described in 1879 by Mosler.[5]
- Finally, in 1900 the lymphoblast, which is the malignant cell in acute lymphoid leukemia, was characterized by Naegeli, who divided the leukemias into myeloid and lymphocytic.[6][7]
Classification
Pathophysiology
Differentiating Acute lymphoblastic leukemia from other Diseases
Epidemiology and Demographics
Risk Factors
Screening
Natural History, Complications and Prognosis
Diagnosis
History and Symptoms | Physical Examination | Laboratory Findings | Electrocardiogram | CT | MRI | Other Imaging Findings | Other Diagnostic Studies
Treatment
Medical Therapy | Primary Prevention | Secondary Prevention | Cost-Effectiveness of Therapy | Future or Investigational Therapies
- ↑ Hoffman, Ronald; et al. (2005). Hematology: Basic Principles and Practice (4th. ed. ed.). St. Louis, Mo.: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone. pp. p. 1071. ISBN 0-443-06629-9.
- ↑ Bennett JH. Two cases of hypertrophy of the spleen and liver, in which death took place from suppuration of blood. Edinburgh Med Surg J. (1845)64:413.
- ↑ Virchow R: Die Leukämie. In Virchow R (ed): Gesammelte Abhandlungen zur Wissenschaftlichen Medizin. Frankfurt, Meidinger, 1856, p 190.
- ↑ Ebstein W. Ueber die acute Leukämie und Pseudoleukämie. Deutsch Arch Klin Med. (1889)44:343.
- ↑ Mosler F. Klinische Symptome und Therapie der medullären Leukämie. Berl Klin Wochenschr. (1876)13:702.
- ↑ Naegeli O. Über rothes Knochenmark und Myeloblasten. Deutsch Med Wochenschr. (1900) 26:287.
- ↑ Zhen-yi, Wang (2003). "Ham-Wasserman Lecture: Treatment of Acute Leukemia by Inducing Differentiation and Apoptosis". Hematology. PMID 14633774.