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Pam

Pam Katten died on September 24, 2002 after a year-long battle with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Relapsed and Refractory

Some patients' cancer returns after a successful course of treatment. This is called a relapse.

Some patients' cancer does not respond to treatment. This is called refractory chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML).

If you have relapsed or refractory CMML, talk with your doctor about whether taking part in a clinical trial may be a good option for you.

Childhood and Adolescent Blood Cancer Facts and Statistics

Childhood and Adolescent Blood Cancers

An estimated 54,868 children and adolescents younger than 20 years in the US are living with or in remission from leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) or myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs).
Leukemia is the most common cancer diagnosed in children and adolescents younger than 20 years and accounts for 25.4 percent of all cancer cases in this age-group.
From 2016 to 2020, the most recent 5 years for which data are available, leukemia and lymphoma accounted for 38.4 percent of all cancer types in

Some patients still have leukemia cells in their bone marrow after hairy cell leukemia treatment. This is called refractory leukemia. Some patients have a return of leukemia cells in the marrow and a decrease in normal blood cells after remission. This is called a relapse.

Drug therapy that can be used to treat relapsed or refractory HCL includes:

Childhood AML

Childhood Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)

Because of new and better therapies, cancer survival rates for children with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) have improved dramatically during the last several decades. Scientists continue to search for the causes of childhood leukemia so they can develop better treatments with less toxic side effects.

Find statistics for Childhood AML and other blood cancers.

Clinical Trials

Taking part in a clinical trial may be a good treatment choice for people with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML). Clinical trials are under way to help improve treatment, extend survival and improve the quality of life for CMML patients. Today's standard treatments for cancer are based on earlier clinical trials. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society continues to invest funds in CMML research.

Diagnosis

Diagnosing acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and the ALL subtype usually involves a series of tests. An accurate diagnosis of the subtype is important. The exact diagnosis helps the doctor

Estimate how the disease will progress
Determine the appropriate treatment

In children, a diagnosis of ALL generally requires a finding that 25 percent or more of the cells in the bone marrow are leukemic blasts of lymphoid origin (lymphoblasts).

Stefan

Treatment Outcomes

Treatment results and outcomes vary among patients. The advent of the chemotherapy drug cladribine (Leustatin®) has resulted in approximately an 85 percent rate of complete remission (no evidence of the disease) and approximately 10 percent rate of partial response.

Many patients remain disease free for years or decades after treatment with cladribine or pentostatin (Nipent®) and have a normal life expectancy.

Clinical Trials

Taking part in a clinical trial may be the best treatment choice for some acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients. Clinical trials are under way for patients at every treatment stage and for patients in remission. Today's standard treatments for cancer are based on earlier clinical trials. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society continues to invest funds in AML research.

Click here to read more about clinical trials.

ALL Subtypes

Doctors classify acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) into subtypes by using various tests. It's important to get an accurate diagnosis since your subtype plays a large part in deciding the type of treatment you'll receive. Depending on your ALL subtype, the doctor will determine

Doug

In July 2014, my defibrillator fired while I was at a diner. Upon testing at the hospital I found out I have acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). Much to my surprise, it was discovered by a simple blood test.

Clinical Trials

Taking part in a clinical trial may be the best treatment choice for some chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients. Clinical trials are under way to improve remission rates for CLL. Today's standard treatments for cancer are based on earlier clinical trials. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society continues to invest funds in CLL research.

Click here to read more about clinical trials.

Clinical Trials

Taking part in a clinical trial may be the best treatment choice for some acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients. Clinical trials are under way for patients at every treatment stage and for patients in remission. Today's standard treatments for cancer are based on earlier clinical trials. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society continues to invest funds in ALL research.

Click here to read more about clinical trials.

Clinical Trials

Taking part in a clinical trial may be the best option for some chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients. Clinical trials are designed to be accurate and very safe. There are clinical trials for newly diagnosed patients, for patients with advanced disease, and for patients who are either intolerant to or resistant to their current medications. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society continues to invest funds in CML research.

Click here to read more about clinical trials.

Chemotherapy

If you're being treated for hairy cell leukemia, your first line of defense will likely be chemotherapy. During chemotherapy, you'll be given potent drugs that must be toxic enough to damage or kill leukemic cells. At the same time, they can take aim at normal cells and cause side effects. Yet, not everyone experiences side effects and people react differently.

The chemotherapy drug used to treat hairy cell leukemia is cladribine (Leustatin®). Cladribine is given in a vein (intravenously). You'll usually receive the treatment for seven consecutive days.

Matthew

Our Matthew was first diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in August 2015 at the age of 12. He relapsed with ALL in December 2016 and underwent his first bone marrow transplant in February 2017 with marrow from an anonymous male donor from New Jersey.

In January 2019, he was diagnosed with mixed phenotype acute leukemia (MPAL). He underwent his second bone marrow transplant in February 2019 with marrow from his first donor's twin brother. Our two families have become very close since we were able to meet after the first transplant.

Mateo

Our Journey On June 26 2013, at six years old, Mateo was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Our world was completely upside down since that night. Our hearts shattered when we processed the words "your child has cancer ".

Follow-Up Care

Click here for information about follow-up care, including what to expect, long-term and late effects of treatment, survivorship clinics, and other resources such as The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) treatment guidelines.

Treatment Outcomes

All patients are advised to discuss survival information with their hematologist-oncologists. Keep in mind that outcome data can only show how other people with CMML responded to treatment, and cannot predict how any one person will respond.

Unfortunately, lasting remissions are not common. The expected survival time ranges from a few months to a few years after the initiation of treatment, depending on a variety of risk factors including the percentage of blasts in the blood and marrow, the white blood cell count, and the presence of certain gene mutations.

Signs and Symptoms

Children who have juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) may have the following signs and symptoms:

Difficulty breathing and/or dry cough
Enlarged lymph nodes
Abdominal pain and loss of appetite caused by enlarged kidney, liver and/or spleen
Bone and joint pain
Fatigue and pale skin (from low level of red blood cells)
Easy bruising and bleeding (from low level of platelets)
Frequent infections (from low level of white blood cells)

Some children also have skin changes which can include

Signs and Symptoms

The signs and symptoms of hairy cell leukemia aren't specific and are common to other, less serious illnesses. However, if you're troubled by any of the following symptoms, see your doctor:

ALL Subtypes

The subtypes of ALL are identified based on certain features of the leukemia cells. Determining the ALL subtype is an important factor in treatment planning. The doctor will discuss with you which drug combinations are indicated based on your child’s ALL subtype.

Leukemia cells can be classified by the unique set of proteins found on their surface. These unique sets of proteins are known as “immunophenotypes.” Based on immunophenotyping of the leukemia cell, the World Health Organization (WHO) classifies ALL into two main subtypes.

Giulia Casorati, Ph.D.

A Leading Researcher Advancing Immunotherapy for Acute Myeloid Leukemia

In Italy, Dr. Giulia Casorati is focused on adoptive cell immunotherapy to treat patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Immunotherapy is a groundbreaking approach to treatment that involves harnessing the power of the patient’s own immune system to kill cancer. She is developing an immunotherapy approach that engineers T cells to specifically target CD1, a molecule found on the surface of AML cells.

Diagnosis

Diagnosing acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and your ALL subtype usually involves a series of tests. An accurate diagnosis of the subtype is important. The exact diagnosis helps the doctor