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Acute myelogenous leukemia, also called AML, is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. Bone marrow is the soft matter inside bones where blood cells are made. The word "acute" in acute myelogenous leukemia means the disease tends to get worse quickly.
Acute leukemia. In acute leukemia, the abnormal blood cells are immature blood cells (blasts). They can't carry out their normal functions, and they multiply rapidly, so the disease worsens quickly.
The 5-year overall survival is approximately 90% in children and 30% to 40% in adults and elderly patients. Adults with ALL tend to have higher risk factors at diagnosis, more comorbidities, and increasing age that often requires dose reductions.
Acute lymphocytic leukemia is the most common type of cancer in children, and treatments result in a good chance for a cure. Acute lymphocytic leukemia can also occur in adults, though the chance of a cure is greatly reduced.
The median survival was 32 months with a 5-year survival rate of 38%. Younger age was associated with better outcome: 51% estimated 5-year survival for patients younger than 40 years and 17% for those older than 60 years.
"The average age of diagnosis of acute leukemia is around 70 years of age," says Dr. Foran. "For patients over the age of 60–65, leukemia can be more difficult," says Dr. Foran. "Sometimes people have a comorbid disease like diabetes or heart disease that makes it harder to go through treatment."
According to the National Cancer Institute's SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results) database, only 31.9% of people diagnosed with AML will be alive five years later. But these survival rates depend significantly on the patient's age, the disease's biological features, and other factors.