Words to know: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)
- Bone marrow
- The soft tissue inside bones where blood cells are made.
- Lymphoblast
- A young white blood cell that normally grows into a lymphocyte. In ALL, too many lymphoblasts fill the marrow.
- Lymphocyte
- A type of white blood cell that is part of the immune system. B cells and T cells are lymphocytes.
- Acute
- Fast-growing. Acute leukemia needs treatment soon after diagnosis.
- Philadelphia chromosome
- A swap between chromosomes 9 and 22 that makes the BCR-ABL1 gene. ALL with it is called Ph+ ALL.
- BCR-ABL1
- An abnormal gene that tells leukemia cells to keep growing. TKI pills block the protein it makes.
- Tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI)
- A daily pill, such as imatinib, dasatinib, or ponatinib, that blocks BCR-ABL1.
- Ph-like ALL
- A higher-risk B-cell ALL that acts like Ph+ ALL without having the Philadelphia chromosome.
- Blinatumomab
- An immune drug that connects T cells to B-cell ALL cells so the T cells can kill them.
- Inotuzumab ozogamicin
- An antibody that carries chemotherapy directly into B-cell ALL cells.
- CAR T-cell therapy
- A treatment where your own T cells are changed in a lab to attack leukemia, then given back to you.
- Asparaginase
- A key ALL drug that starves leukemia cells of a building block they need.
- Induction
- The first phase of treatment, meant to bring the leukemia into remission.
- Consolidation
- Treatment after remission to kill leukemia cells that are left.
- Maintenance
- About 2 years of lower-intensity treatment, mostly pills, to keep ALL from coming back.
- Remission
- When tests no longer find signs of leukemia under the microscope and blood counts recover.
- Relapse
- When leukemia comes back after remission.
- MRD (measurable residual disease)
- Tiny amounts of leukemia left after treatment, found only by very sensitive tests.
- CNS (central nervous system)
- The brain and spinal cord. ALL can spread to the fluid around them.
- CNS prophylaxis
- Treatment, usually chemotherapy given into the spinal fluid, to prevent ALL from growing in the brain and spinal cord.
- Intrathecal chemotherapy
- Chemotherapy injected into the spinal fluid during a spinal tap.
- Lumbar puncture (spinal tap)
- A procedure that uses a thin needle in the lower back to remove spinal fluid or give medicine.
- Allogeneic stem cell transplant
- A transplant using blood-forming stem cells from a donor.
- Cytokine release syndrome (CRS)
- A strong immune reaction to blinatumomab or CAR T that can cause fever and low blood pressure.
- Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD)
- When donor immune cells attack the body's healthy tissues after a transplant.
Last updated: 2026-10-27. Medically reviewed by Veli Bakalov, MD, medical oncologist (October 2026). General education from Step by Step, the patient portal of HemeOncBuddy.