Which types of leukemia are not curable?

All leukemia types..: may be cured in some people but not in others. Factors which make leukemia very high risk and less likely to be cured include certain chromosomal aberrations, abnormal (dysplastic) shapes of the leukemia cells, and old age of the patient. To be more precise one must first determine which kind of leukemia we are dealing with.

Cures in Leukemias: CLL is usually managed by watchful waiting. CML can be held back with lifelong tyrosine kinase inhibitors, but the leukemia recurs in most pts if drug stopped. Children with ALL can be cured, but adult ALL is difficult to cure. A minority of AML can be cured with chemo (APL, CBF AML). Allogeneic transplant can be curative, but is risky. Cure depends on the individual's leukemia genetics, etc.