Introduction

摘要

We created this issue on acute leukemias to provide oncology nurses and other clinicians who care for individuals with acute leukemia with support and resources to improve their practice. Whether practicing in an inpatient or outpatient setting, nurses caring for this specialized population can benefit from an in-depth focus on acute leukemias, in learning about indications for novel therapies, assessment of psychological and financial distress, the integration of palliative care, and management of complex treatment-related symptoms, among other topics. Acute leukemia is a hematologic cancer of the bone marrow and blood that can be diagnosed across the life span. The most common acute leukemia is acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a disease of older adults, with a median age at onset of 68 years, and a generally poor prognosis in those over age 60.1 Eight new treatments were approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 20172 and 20183 for the management of AML, so a great deal has changed about how these patients are being managed, warranting our focus on this disease in this issue.2 Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is common among pediatric and adolescent young adults and has a high survival rate.4