# Leukaemia (all types)

Source: https://onco.cc/cancers/leukaemia/  
OnCo record `leukaemia` (Cancer). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Leukaemia means cancer of the blood-forming cells, but the four main types share little beyond the name: acute lymphoblastic and acute myeloid leukaemia are emergencies treated with intensive therapy, while chronic lymphocytic and chronic myeloid leukaemia are slow diseases controlled for years with pills. Each has its own page.

## Summary

Leukaemias arise when a blood stem cell or its progeny acquires mutations that block maturation and drive proliferation, flooding the marrow and blood with abnormal cells. They are classified by speed (acute or chronic) and lineage (lymphoid or myeloid). Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is the commonest childhood cancer and is cured in about 90 percent of children; acute myeloid leukaemia is mainly a disease of older adults treated with intensive chemotherapy, venetoclax combinations and transplant; chronic lymphocytic leukaemia is often watched for years and then controlled with BTK and BCL2 inhibitors; chronic myeloid leukaemia became the model of targeted therapy with imatinib. Rarer forms include hairy cell leukaemia and chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia. CAR-T cells and bispecific antibodies are changing the acute leukaemias.

## Fields

- Kind: Cancer
- Last checked: 2026-09-17
- Also known as: Leukemia; Blood cancer (leukaemias)
- Tags: parent-page
- Group: haematologic
- Burden: About 490,000 new cases and 300,000 deaths a year worldwide; the commonest cancer of childhood, where most cases are now cured, and a group of very different diseases in adults.
- Subtypes: Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL); Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML); Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL); Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML); Hairy cell leukaemia; Chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia (CMML); Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN)
- Biomarkers: Flow cytometry immunophenotype; Cytogenetics and fusion genes (BCR-ABL1, PML-RARA, KMT2A); Mutations (FLT3, NPM1, IDH1/2, TP53, IGHV status); Measurable residual disease by flow or PCR

## Standard of care

- Diagnosis: Blood count and film, bone marrow aspirate and biopsy, flow cytometry, cytogenetics and molecular panel; the subtype then sets the pathway. ([Multiparameter flow cytometry MRD](https://onco.cc/technologies/flow-cytometry-mrd/), [Cytogenetics and FISH](https://onco.cc/technologies/cytogenetics-fish/))
- Treatment: By type on the subtype pages: intensive chemotherapy and transplant for acute leukaemias, tyrosine kinase inhibitors for CML, BTK and BCL2 inhibitors for CLL. ([Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia](https://onco.cc/cancers/all-leukemia/), [Acute myeloid leukaemia](https://onco.cc/cancers/aml/), [Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia](https://onco.cc/cancers/cll/), [Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML)](https://onco.cc/cancers/cml/))

## State of the art

- Childhood ALL cure rates near 90 percent through risk-adapted chemotherapy and measurable residual disease monitoring.
- CML patients live near-normal lifespans on tyrosine kinase inhibitors, and many can stop treatment.
- Venetoclax made AML treatable in older adults; CAR-T and blinatumomab rescued relapsed ALL.
- Treatment-free remission and measurable residual disease guide therapy across the chronic leukaemias.

## Open problems

- Adult ALL and TP53-mutated AML still have poor outcomes.
- Infant and relapsed childhood leukaemias.
- Access to CAR-T and transplant outside rich countries.
- Late effects of childhood treatment.

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leukemia
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leukemia
- NCI PDQ: https://www.cancer.gov/types/leukemia

## Connected records

- drugs: [Imatinib](https://onco.cc/drugs/imatinib/), [Tisagenlecleucel](https://onco.cc/drugs/tisagenlecleucel/)
- technologies: [Cytogenetics and FISH](https://onco.cc/technologies/cytogenetics-fish/), [Multiparameter flow cytometry MRD](https://onco.cc/technologies/flow-cytometry-mrd/)
- cancers: [Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia](https://onco.cc/cancers/all-leukemia/), [Acute myeloid leukaemia](https://onco.cc/cancers/aml/), [Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN)](https://onco.cc/cancers/bpdcn/), [Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia](https://onco.cc/cancers/cll/), [Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML)](https://onco.cc/cancers/cml/), [Chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia and MDS/MPN overlap neoplasms](https://onco.cc/cancers/cmml/), [Hairy cell leukaemia](https://onco.cc/cancers/hairy-cell-leukemia/)

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