What is leukemia?

Also known as: acute lymphoblastic lymphoma, ALL.

There are several types of Leukemia. Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), also called acute lymphoblastic leukemia, is the most common cancer and the most common leukemia affecting children. It is a cancer that affects the bone marrow and subsequently, the blood.

When the bone marrow produces abnormal white blood cells, those cells take over the normal cells that cannot be produced or function any longer. The normal blood cells are white cells that fight infection, red cells that carry oxygen and platelets that help with clotting. Without those healthy cells, the child will be prone to infection, will not have energy and will be bleeding. 

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Reviewed by: Kamar Godder, MD

This page was last updated on: 1/29/2019 3:21:13 PM