Adult T-Cell Leukemia/Lymphoma

Adult T-cell leukemia/ lymphoma (ATLL) is a rare T-cell lymphoma that can be found in the blood (leukemia), lymph nodes (lymphoma), skin, or multiple other areas of the body.

ATLL has been linked to infection with the human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1; a virus that infects the T-cells and may cause disease in some patients) however, only 5% of individuals with HTLV-1 will develop ATLL. Currently, physicians have no way of predicting which infected patients will develop ATLL. The HTLV-1 virus is most common in parts of Japan, the Caribbean, and some areas of South and Central America, and Africa. The HTLV-1 virus can be passed through sexual contact or contact with infected blood but is most often passed from mother to child through the placenta, at childbirth, and during breastfeeding. In most cases, infection with HTLV-1 is not associated with any symptoms.

Subtypes of ATLL

There are four types of ATLL:

• Acute: This aggressive type of ATLL may develop rapidly and include fatigue, skin rash, and enlarged lymph nodes in the neck, underarm, or groin.
• Lymphomatous: This aggressive type of ATLL is found primarily in the lymph nodes but may also cause high white blood cell counts.
• Chronic: This slow-growing type of ATLL can result in elevated lymphocytes in the blood, enlarged lymph nodes, skin rash or fatigue.
• Smoldering: This slow-growing type of ATLL is associated with very mild symptoms, such as a few skin lesions.

Depending on the subtype, diagnosis ATLL may require removing a small sample of tumor tissue or abnormal skin tissue called a biopsy, and looking at the cells under a microscope.

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