Acute promyelocytic leukaemia
Acute promyelocytic is a subtype of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a cancer of the white blood cells. In APL, there is an abnormal accumulation of immature granulocytes called promyelocytes. The disease is characterized by a t(15;17) chromosomal translocation involving the retinoic acid alpha (RARA) gene and is distinguished from other forms of AML by its responsiveness to all-trans retinoic acid therapy. Acute promyelocytic leukemia was first characterized in 1957 by French and Norwegian physicians as a hyperacute fatal illness, with a median survival time of less than a week. Today, prognoses have drastically improved; 10-year survival rates are estimated to be approximately 80-90% according to one study.
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Causes — why it happens
- ·Uncontrolled proliferation of promyelocytes
Outlook
- ·80-90% five-year survival rate