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Acute Lymphoblastic
Leukemia Prognosis
Advancements in medical technology and research over the past
four decades in the treatment of ALL has improved the overall prognosis
significantly from a zero to 20-75 percent survival rate, largely due to the
continuous development of clinical trials and improvements in bone marrow
transplantation (BMT) and stem cell transplanation (SCT) technology.
However the prognosis for ALL differs between individuals depending on a wide
variety of factors:
* Sex: females tend to fare better than males.
* Ethnicity: Caucasians are more likely to develop acute leukemia than
African-Americans, Asians and Hispanics and tend to have a better prognosis than
non-Caucasians.
* Age at diagnosis: children between 1-10 years of age are most likely to be
cured.
* Lymphoblast cell count at diagnosis
* Whether the cancer has spread to the brain or spinal cord
* Morphological, immunological, and genetic subtypes
* Response of patient to initial treatment
* Genetic disorders such as Down's Syndrome
Acute lymphoblastic
leukemia
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