ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the leukemias and highlights how the astonishing pace of advances in cancer biology and the breakthroughs in gene-sequencing methods and bioinformatics have ushered in a new era in precision medicine. Historically, leukemias are often considered as “acute” and “chronic”. Acute leukemias are typically of rapid onset, whereas chronic leukemias usually appear to have evolved slowly before diagnosis; neither term refers to the severity of the disease. Most patients with acute myeloid leukemia present with signs and symptoms arising from bone marrow failure and organ infiltration by leukemic cells. Post-remission therapy, also known as intensification or consolidation therapy is designed to eradicate residual leukemic cells. It comprises drugs similar to those used in remission induction or a combination of new drugs. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is a clinically aggressive, though potentially curable, and genetically complex disorder comprised of multiple subtypes of B-cell precursor lineage or T-cell precursor lineage cells.
