Abstract

Precursor B-cell lymphoblastic leukemia is a form of lymphoid leukemia in which too many B-cell lymphoblasts (immature white blood cells) are found in the blood and bone marrow. It is the most common type of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). It is sometimes additionally classified as a lymphoma, as designated "leukemia/lymphoma".

It consists of the following subtypes:

- t(9;22)-BCR/ ABL

- t(v;11q23)-MLL rearrangement

- t(1;19)-E2A/PBX1

- t(12;21)-ETV/ CBFα

- t(17;19)-E2A-HLF

Molecular Mechanisms

One interesting model of precursor B ALL shows aberrant function of a single gene, namely Pax5, as capable to change phenotype of B cells toward precursor cells.