Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is a form of cancer which affects blood-producing cells in the bone marrow. It is the only form of blood cancer which affects children more commonly than adults. 

How common is it?

• There are almost 300 children diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia each year in the UK.
• There are slightly more boys than girls affected by ALL.
• The most common age at which children are affected by ALL is between two and four years old.

There is a separate web page with information on adult lymphoblastic leukaemia.

How is it treated?

The cure rate for childhood ALL in children is now generally agreed to be higher than 90%. Although most teenagers and young adults with ALL can be cured, the cure rate in this group is not quite as high as for children.

It is standard in the UK to use the same form of treatment for children (over one year of age) and teenagers and young adults (up to their 25th birthday). Almost all children, teenagers and young adults will take part in the current clinical trial, which is called UKALL 2011. This is a national trial which is being funded by Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research. 

Not all treatment centres are taking part in this trial yet. Your child's specialist will give you information about whether this trial is available to you or your child yet.

If your child started treatment before the UKALL 2011 study opened (26 April 2012), then they will not transfer onto the trial. You can download a PDF describing how your child will be treated under the previous protocol.

If you are not sure which information is right for you or your child, please phone our clinical information officer on 020 7504 2260 to discuss this.

More information

This section of the website explains more about the disease, tests and treatment with details of organisations which offer help and support.