B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (B-ALL) prognosis
After you have been diagnosed with B-ALL, you may want to know more about your prognosis. Prognosis is a way of saying what the most likely outcome or range of outcomes will be for you in the future. This is based on what has happened to other people with B-ALL.
What you need to know
- There are certain factors that can affect prognosis for B-ALL
- Everyone is different and so each person's prognosis is individual to them
- If you want to know about your individual prognosis, your hospital team are the best people to ask.
What can affect prognosis for B-ALL?
There are some things that we know affect prognosis, like:
- your age
- your general level of fitness and whether you have any other serious health problems
- how well your body may be able to cope with intensive chemotherapy, for example, how well your kidneys and liver work
- the exact type of B-ALL you have and the genetic changes (mutations) in your leukaemia cells
- whether the B-ALL has spread to your brain or spinal cord
- how well the first phase of your treatment works to get rid of the leukaemia cells in your body.
It's important to remember, that even after taking these factors into account, people can still have quite different experiences. Everyone is different and so each person's prognosis is individual.
Worried about anything or have questions?
If you need someone to talk to, please don't hesitate to contact our Support Service by phone or email.
Understanding your prognosis
If you want to know about your individual prognosis, your hospital team are the best people to ask. They know you and your individual situation.
You could ask questions like:
- What is the aim of my current treatment?
- What are the most likely possible outcomes for me?
- If the treatment plan I’m on now doesn’t work as expected, what other treatment options might be available to me?
Sometimes a loved one might want to know more than you do about your prognosis. Your hospital team can talk to them about your prognosis, but only if you give them permission to.
Some people choose to look up statistics about prognosis, but data around survival rates can sometimes be confusing or misleading and cause worry. If you do decide to research statistics, it is important to discuss them with your doctor. They can talk to you about what they mean for you.
Contact our support services team
Our team of nurses and trained staff offer support and information to anyone affected by or worried about blood cancer. Contact them by phone, email, or on our Community Forum.
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About this page
This information has been accredited with the PIF TICK, the UK's only quality mark for trusted health information.
Last full review June 2026. Next full review due June 2029. We may make factual updates between reviews.
Thank you to Consultant Haematologists Professor Adele Fielding and Dr Clare Rowntree for checking the clinical accuracy of our adult B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (B-ALL) information.
Thank you also to Karis, Ricky, Binu, Harry, Keri and Jesús for sharing their experiences and for helping with the creation of this information.