Current and emerging therapeutic approaches for T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

T-cell ALL (T-ALL) is an aggressive malignancy of T-cell progenitors. Although survival outcomes in T-ALL have greatly improved over the past 50 years, relapsed and refractory cases remain extremely challenging to treat and those who cannot tolerate intensive treatment continue to have poor outcomes. Furthermore, T-ALL has proven a more challenging immunotherapeutic target than B-ALL. In this review we explore our expanding knowledge of the basic biology of T-ALL and how this is paving the way for repurposing established treatments and the development of novel therapeutic approaches.

Automated summary

T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is an aggressive malignancy of T-cell progenitors that remains challenging to treat despite improvements in survival outcomes over the past 50 years. Relapsed and refractory cases are particularly difficult to manage, and T-ALL is proving to be a more challenging immunotherapeutic target compared to B-ALL. Understanding the basic biology of T-ALL is crucial in repurposing established treatments and developing novel therapeutic approaches.