Proteoforms in Acute Leukemia: Evaluation of Age- and Disease-Specific Proteoform Patterns

Acute leukemia are a heterogeneous group of malignant diseases of the bone marrow that occur at all ages. Acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL) accounts for about 80% of all pediatric leukemia patients, whereas acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is more common in adults compared to pediatric patients. Despite similar patterns in the pathogenesis of acute leukemia in children and adults, clinical outcome in response to therapy differs substantially. Studying proteoforms in acute leukemia in children and adults, might identify similarities and differences in crucial signaling pathways that play a key role in the development or progression of the disease. In this chapter we will discuss how the study of proteoforms in acute leukemia could potentially contribute to a better understanding of the leukemogenesis, can help to identify effective targets for specific targeted treatment approaches in different subgroups of age and disease, and could aid the development of reliable biomarkers for prognostic stratification.