leukaemia

Question 1

pathophysiology of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

Answer 1

arrest in maturation occurs at the common lymphoid progenitor.
arrest caused by an abnormal expression of genes
Leading to proliferation of lymphoid blasts
can present with pancytopenia, as blast cells overwhelm bone marrow preventing regular haemopoesis

Question 2

presentation of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

Answer 2

generally in children <5 yrs old
symptoms of pancytopenia
constitutional symptoms
bone pain, lymphadenopathy or other sites of infiltration

Question 3

management of acute lymphoblastic leuakaemia

Answer 3

chemotherapy (2yrs maintenance for girls, 3yrs for boys)
supportive treatment
prophylactic antifungal therapy

Question 4

what is chronic lymphoblastic leukaemia