Acute lymphoblastic leukemia in adolescents and young adults - from genomics to the clinics

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in adolescents and young adults (AYA) represents a unique and challenging disease entity. Despite the recent improvement of survival in this population over the last decade, it is still lagging behind the excellent cure rates obtained in pediatric ALL. This special population of AYA receives care from pediatric as well as adult hematologists and can be treated on pediatric or adult protocols. There is a substantial difference in disease biology, response to chemotherapy, and allogeneic stem cell transplantation between pediatric and AYA patients. This review discusses current controversies in the management of AYA, outcomes following treatment with pediatric and adult protocols, and the role of allogeneic stem cell transplantation. It focuses on the unique clinical, biological, and socioeconomic characteristics of this population that might partly explain the inferior outcomes. This review also explores recent advances in genomic profiling and emerging treatments in ALL.