Experts in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Care
At Fred Hutch Cancer Center, our team of experts cares for people with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) every day. Your Fred Hutch hematologist-oncologist and other leukemia specialists work together to understand the specific features of your disease. Together, they will develop a personalized treatment plan designed to give you the best possible outcome.
As part of our holistic approach, we’ll connect you with a group of world-class professionals for support, such as registered dietitians, physical therapists and psychologists. All the members of your care team will work together to get the best possible outcome for you.
About ALL
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma (ALL), also called acute lymphocytic leukemia and acute lymphoid leukemia, is a type of blood cancer that starts with a change to a single cell in the bone marrow.
In people with ALL, something goes wrong with a type of blood stem cell called a lymphoblast. Instead of maturing into fully functioning lymphocytes — important immune-system cells — the lymphoblasts multiply out of control, and they don’t die off like normal blood cells do.
The underdeveloped (leukemic) cells can’t do their normal infection-fighting functions. They build up in your bone marrow and blood, crowding out the normal, healthy blood cells that your body needs.
Low levels of normal blood cells can lead to infection, anemia and excessive bleeding. The leukemic cells can travel around your body through your bloodstream and keep your organs from working right. ALL gets worse quickly if it is not treated, which makes it important to start treatment soon after diagnosis. Some patients will have these cancerous blood cells in their blood or bone marrow (leukemia), while others will develop them mostly in tumor masses (lymphoma).
ALL is the most common type of leukemia in children but is the least common type in adults. Only one-quarter of ALL cases are diagnosed in people aged 20 or older.
Understanding Your Bone Marrow and Blood
To understand leukemia, it helps to know the basics about your bone marrow and blood cells.
What are stem cells?
Stem cells can turn into any kind of cell, such as a skin cell, liver cell, brain cell or blood cell. Stem cells that turn into blood cells are called hematopoietic stem cells, or blood stem cells.
Why are blood stem cells important?
When blood cells become old or damaged, they die, and blood stem cells make new blood cells to replace them. Blood stem cells are mainly found in bone marrow (the soft, spongy tissue inside your bones), but some are also found in the blood that circulates in your body. Blood stem cells make lymphoid stem cells and myeloid stem cells.
- Lymphoid stem cells: Make lymphoblasts. (Lymphoblasts are types of lymphocytes, or white blood cells, that have gotten larger after being stimulated by an antigen. Lymphoblast also refers to an immature cell that can develop into a mature lymphocyte.)
- Myeloid stem cells: Make myeloblasts. Myeloblasts make white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets.
What do healthy blood cells do?
Healthy white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets are very important.
- White blood cells fight infection. The main types of white blood cells are B lymphocytes (B cells), T lymphocytes (T cells), natural killer (NK) cells and granulocytes.
- Red blood cells carry oxygen from your lungs to other parts of your body and take carbon dioxide back to your lungs to get rid of it (by breathing it out).
- Platelets make your blood clot and slow or stop bleeding.
Why Choose Fred Hutch for ALL Care
At Fred Hutch we combine compassionate care with innovative research to address the impact of cancer and infectious disease. We’re driven by the urgency of our patients, the hope of our community and our passion for discovery to pursue scientific breakthroughs and healthier lives for every person.
