T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is a rare type of leukaemia that is more common in older children and teenagers. Leukaemia is a cancer of the blood. It affects the white blood cells, which are a really important part of our immune system that fights infection.

What is T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia?

T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is a type of acute leukaemia meaning that it is aggressive and progresses quickly. It affects a type of white blood cell called T-cells.

What are the signs and symptoms?

There are no specific symptoms of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and the condition can be confused with other common illnesses.
In general T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia develops very quickly and the symptoms appear over a matter of days or weeks. Common symptoms include:

• Enlarged glands that persist for up to six weeks
• Abdominal pain due to enlarged spleen
• Frequent and persistent infections

These are caused by a lack of healthy red and white cells and platelets in the blood.

What causes it?

There is no single factor known to cause T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. In most cases it is probably due to a combination of different factors.

T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is not an inherited condition that can be passed down through families.

How common is T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia?

T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is rare and accounts for less than one quarter of all acute lymphoblastic leukaemias. Around 200 people are diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in the UK every year.

It usually occurs in late childhood and early adolescence.

T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is significantly more common in boys than girls.