title: Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in the elderly.
abstract: Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is rare in adults over the age of 60 years, with an incidence of 1 per 100,000 per year. We review the current (sparse) literature and our Regional experience of 62 consecutive cases of ALL in this age group collected over a ten year period. The patterns of cytogenetic abnormalities and immunophenotypes differs from those seen in ALL in childhood and young adults, but are similar to those reported in previous studies. B-ALL was found at twice the rate observed in younger adults (9/51 versus 6/99) and T-ALL was rare (2/51). In our patients we had few cytogenetic results but in the literature up to 50% of patients have been found to be Philadelphia positive, supporting the hypothesis that ALL in this group is often a stem cell disorder. In our patients treatment results were disappointing, with only 30% of those given 'curative' treatment achieving a complete remission, and a relapse rate of 92%, mirroring other published series. The overall four year survival was 4%. We conclude that ALL in the elderly is a rare condition with an extremely poor prognosis. Aggressive treatment may prolong life but it seldom cures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Haematology, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
authors.forename: P R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Reid
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Proctor
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*