Acute lymphocytic leukemia, also known as acute lymphoblastic leukemia, is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow.
According to the American Cancer Society, about 6,660 new cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia will be diagnosed in the U.S. this year. Approximately 80 to 90 percent of adults diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia will achieve complete remission. Despite these promising statistics, a large portion of these patients will relapse, and prognostic factors become critical to future treatment decisions. Relevant factors in post-remission prognosis include white blood cell count at diagnosis, disease subtype, and length of time to achieve complete remission. Additionally, measurable residual disease has recently emerged as an important prognostic factor. Quantification of measurable residual disease can provide insight into a patient’s risk and benefit stratification, enabling cancer care teams to make more patient-specific therapeutic selections.
The ACCC Multidisciplinary Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia Care education project seeks to identify key barriers to and opportunities for improvement in the cancer care delivery for patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia, including utilization of measurable residual disease testing, detection, and monitoring. Through this project, ACCC aims to:
For more information on this project, please contact the ACCC Provider Education department.
ACCC prepared an environmental scan for this project that provides an overview of the current landscape for ALL diagnosis and care management and information on treatment advances for this patient population.
The scan also highlights potential process improvement opportunities in areas such as provider-to-provider communication, co-management of patients, shared decision-making, minimal residual disease testing, and side effect management.
With projects that address acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), B-Cell ALL, and hematology disease education, ACCC is developing new resources for cancer programs and practices that focus on multidisciplinary approaches to caring for patients with blood cancer.
Through an application process, three ACCC-member cancer programs were selected to participate in custom-tailored Visiting Experts Workshops. These workshops brought together multidisciplinary cancer care teams to review their current processes and outcomes as they relate to team coordination, communication, and quality of care for patients with ALL.
Thank you to the following ACCC-member cancer programs for your participation:
