 I am Dr. Madhya Swamy. I am a consultant hematologist and bone marrow transplant physician at Manipal Hospital, Goa. I am discussing few things about acute leukemia today. Acute leukemia is a type of a cancer. It's a blood cancer, arises from the blood forming cells, blood and blood forming cells. There are many blood cells, red cells, white cells, platelets. The term acute stands for something coming in short duration, something rapid. Acute leukemia can be acute lymphoid leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia based on the type of the cell which is involved here. Why should we know type of the leukemias based on that the treatment protocols, the outcome and the prognosis changes. How a patient with acute leukemia is going to present is with like common symptoms, sudden onset of weakness, unexplained fever, fatigue, bleeding gums, bleeding spots in the skin. What are the tools to diagnose the presentation? Sometimes we diagnosed on the peripheral smear, peripheral blood smear based on the blood counts. Ideal scenario for doing investigation is the bone marrow aspiration and biopsy. On the bone marrow aspiration we can comment on which type of leukemias it is and the samples are useful for prognosticating. We call it as a risk stratification panel, the chromosomal studies, DNA mutation studies, genetic studies to risk stratify the type of the leukemia. Coming to the treatment options, very great thanks to the progressing chemotherapy protocol where the outcome has improved in coming decades. Pediatric acute leukemias have a five year overall survivability of around 90%. Adult cancers have a lesser prognosis but with the modified chemotherapy protocols, newer drugs, the outcomes have changed.