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Molecular Aspects of Hematologic Malignancies pp 3–28Cite as

Molecular Biology of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

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Part of the book series: Principles and Practice ((PRINCIPLES))

Abstract

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common but also the most successfully treated malignancy in children. Current cure rates of approximately 85 % have been reached through multi-agent therapeutic regimens and particularly through risk-stratification enabling therapy individualization. Nevertheless, relapse is still the main cause of treatment failure. Therefore, the main effort is now focused on improving the outcome of high risk ALL subtypes, i.e., Ph + ALL, infant ALL, ALL with MLL gene rearrangements, hypodiploid ALL, some T-ALL subsets, recurrent and refractory leukemia. Recent research using advanced molecular techniques, in particular microarray-based genomic gene expression profiling (GEP) and high resolution single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) microarray approaches, resulted in the identification of novel genetic factors with a potential impact on ALL classification and treatment. The main goal is now to translate these findings on ALL blast biology and those on pharmacogenetics of patient response to therapy into improved diagnostics, prognostic classification, and treatment of this malignancy.

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Acknowledgments

This chapter was partly supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, grant N N407 311 839.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular and Clinical Genetics, Institute of Human Genetics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Strzeszyńska 32, 60-479, Poznań, Poland

    Małgorzata Dawidowska & Monika D. Kraszewska

  2. Department of Pediatric Oncology, Hematology and Transplantology, Poznań University of Medical Sciences, Szpitalna 27/33, 60-572, Poznań, Poland

    Katarzyna Derwich

  3. Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Medical University of Silesia, 3 Maja 13/15, 41-800, Zabrze, Poland

    Tomasz Szczepański

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  1. Małgorzata Dawidowska
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  2. Monika D. Kraszewska
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  3. Katarzyna Derwich
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  4. Tomasz Szczepański
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Correspondence to Małgorzata Dawidowska .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. International Institute of Molecular and, Trojdena 4, Warszawa, 02-109, Poland

    Michal Witt

  2. , Institute of Human Genetics, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Strzeszynska 32, Poznan, 60479, Poland

    Malgorzata Dawidowska

  3. , Department of Pediatric Hematology, Silesian Academy of Medicine, 3 Maja 13-15, Zabrze, 41800, Poland

    Tomasz Szczepanski

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Dawidowska, M., Kraszewska, M.D., Derwich, K., Szczepański, T. (2012). Molecular Biology of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. In: Witt, M., Dawidowska, M., Szczepanski, T. (eds) Molecular Aspects of Hematologic Malignancies. Principles and Practice. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-29467-9_1

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