Double leukemia, more accurately referred to as mixed phenotype acute leukemia (MPAL), is a rare and aggressive form of leukemia where a person has characteristics of more than one type of acute leukemia simultaneously. This means that the leukemia cells (blasts) exhibit markers from both acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
Here's a more detailed breakdown:
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Mixed Phenotype: The term "mixed phenotype" indicates that the leukemia cells display characteristics of multiple lineages (cell types). In the case of MPAL, these are lymphoid (ALL) and myeloid (AML) lineages.
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Acute Leukemia: This means that the disease progresses rapidly and requires immediate treatment. The abnormal leukemia cells multiply quickly in the bone marrow, crowding out healthy blood cells.
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Simultaneous Presence: Diagnosis typically requires the presence of distinct populations of blasts with characteristics of ALL and AML, or a single population of blasts with markers of both lineages.
Essentially, a person with MPAL has cancer cells behaving like both ALL and AML at the same time, making diagnosis and treatment challenging. MPAL is considered a distinct subtype of acute leukemia under the World Health Organization (WHO) classification.
Because of the complexities in its classification and treatment, MPAL is managed by specialists in hematology and oncology.
