Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia - USMLE Step 2 Review

This is a review of the diagnosis and treatment of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia for medical students in their clinical years and others learning medicine.

[floramayluckhurst]

my aunt passed away last year because of this cancer.. it was a horrible year for me and for my family..her two little girls left without a mother and poor my uncle he has to raise his kids by himself.

[hiahmad]

A father brings a previously health 4 year old girl to the hospital because she has been complaining of right leg and knee pain for 2 weeks. She has been noticed limping at school as well, although there is no h/o trauma. Her father states she has been getting frequent infections lately. Her temp at the hospital is 100.5 and the is some tenderness over the right knee, HSM, and petechiae on her chest. Which of the following predicts the best prognosis for this disease?

[hiahmad]

Answer: A. This patient is suffering of ALL and except for hyperdiploidy, the rest of the answer choices are associated with a poorer prognosis in children diagnosed with ALL. Thankfully, the 5 year survival rate for childhood ALL is >85% and hopefully with newer treatments the rate will improve in the coming years.

[hiahmad]

A. Hyperdiploidy
B.Age younger than 1 or older than 10 years
C. African American or Hispanic ethnicity
D. Leukocyte count >100, 000
E. Translocations t (8;14), t(9;22), t (1;19), t (4;11)
F. Higher number of blasts ins CSF

[dheerey]

Hi my son was diagnosed with T cell lymphoblastic lymphoma leukemia, it took 3 months to diagnose. My son doesn’t look sick he doesn’t have any symptoms other then coughing and swelling his face and they thought it is lymphoma or tuberculosis before they did the biopsy. after the biopsy they say it’s suspicious t- cell lymphoblastic lymphoma leukemia. They started the chemo he is the second round please help me I still not satisfied his diagnosed.

[kgothatsolegong]

Nice presentation. But try drinking water.