B-Cell ALL

B-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia is a cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow, where blood cells are made. Acute lymphocytic leukemia, or ALL, is the most common type of cancer in children. This leukemia is characterized by undifferentiated or immature cells, usually blast cells. ALL occurs when abnormal, immature white blood cells fills the bone marrow and then infiltrate the blood stream. These abnormal white blood cells, known as leukemic blasts, overcrowd the bone marrow and can cause the normal blood cells to cease in function. It is acute because it is an aggressive, fast-growing leukemia. B-cell ALL progresses from malignant transformation of B-cell progenitor cells. This mutation is believed to have some genetic links, as well as connection to some infectious agents that can predispose children to ALL, though the causes of leukemia are generally not well understood. The immature WBCs don’t function normally and proliferate rapidly through cloning instead of through mitosis. This is what causes the bone marrow to become overcrowded and can result in the spilling of immature WBCs to the blood stream. The healthy, protective WBCs are replaced by the immature WBCs, or leukoblasts, and leave the child vulnerable to infection. ALL is most common in white