Novel Aspects in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Book excerpt: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has turned from a universally fatal to a highly curable disease in little more than four decades. Even though differences in outcome continue to exist between children and adults, intense efforts are under way to overcome this discrepancy and improve the prognosis of adult patients as well. This exemplary progress in ALL therapy has been possible by the combination of an increasingly better understanding of the biology of the disease, availability of a range of effective drugs, and astute designs and relentless executions of many clinical trials. ALL is a complex disease requiring complex therapy. Whereas this book cannot provide a comprehensive review of every one of its many facets, the chapters from many investigators from around the world nevertheless cover a number of relevant topics: aspects of the epidemiology of ALL in Hispanics, ophthalmologic manifestations of ALL, overviews of current therapy and drug-resistance mechanisms, novel biological pathways and targets, new drugs in development, and long-term consequences of CNS prophylaxis and therapy. The publishers and editor therefore hope that the prospective readers will find enough insight and information for their own endeavors.