Causes of Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Causes of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia have been linked to leukemia risk factors. A leukemia risk factor is anything that increases a person's chance of developing acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Although leukemia research already has led to advances, researchers hope one day to be able to determine the causes of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

 

Causes of Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: An Overview

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) accounts for about 3,800 new cases of leukemia each year. ALL is the most common type of leukemia in young children, representing 23 percent of cancer diagnoses among children younger than 15 years of age. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia occurs in about one of every 29,000 children in the United States each year. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is also known as acute lymphocytic leukemia.
 

What Is Known About the Causes of Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia?

No one knows the exact causes of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and doctors can seldom explain why one person will get ALL and another person will not. However, leukemia research has shown that people with certain risk factors are more likely than others to develop childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. A risk factor is anything that increases a person's chance of developing a disease.
 
Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia risk factors include:
 
  • Having a brother or sister with leukemia
  • Being Caucasian or Hispanic
  • Living in the United States
  • Being exposed to x-rays before birth
  • Being exposed to radiation
  • Past treatment with chemotherapy or with other drugs that weaken the immune system
  • Having certain genetic disorders, such as Down syndrome.
 
(Causes of Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Continued: Page 2)
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Written by/reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD