The German competence network ‘Acute and chronic leukemias’.

The article focuses on the German competence network of acute and chronic leukemias. Specialization in medicine as in most other fields of modern science has increased dramatically in the last decades. In Germany, competence networks in medicine have been formally initiated by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research since 1997, mostly on a national basis. Acute and chronic leukemias are still characterized by high morbidity and mortality rates. The disease frequency of patients spread over all age groups and their mortality make leukemias a health problem of high societal visibility.