Leukemia describes several types of cancer that affect blood-making tissues like bone marrow or lymph glands. In many cases, affected tissues produce an unusually large number of white blood cells, many of which are immature or otherwise abnormal.
Leukemia describes several types of cancer that affect blood-making tissues like bone marrow or lymph glands. In many cases, affected tissues produce an unusually large number of white blood cells, many of which are immature or otherwise abnormal.
While leukemia is often thought of as a children’s disease, some types are actually more common in adults. Leukemia, however, is the most common kind of cancer seen in children and adolescents. In fact, nearly a third of children and teenagers with cancer are diagnosed with leukemia.
The various types of leukemia are divided by the speed with which they progress and the cells they affect. Leukemia can be acute or chronic. Acute leukemia progresses swiftly and can kill within months if not treated. By contrast, a patient with chronic leukemia may not even show any symptoms for several years. Acute leukemia is more common in children, while chronic leukemia is more likely to affect adults.
Lymphoid leukemia, which is also known as lymphoblastic or lymphocytic leukemia, affects white blood cells called lymphocytes. Myeloid leukemia, which is also called myelogenous leukemia, affects the myeloid cells, which are cells in the bone marrow that eventually develop into different types of blood cells. Myeloid leukemia affects blood cells other than lymphocytes, including red blood cells, platelets, and other kinds of white blood cells.
Scientists have not yet determined the exact causes of leukemia, but they believe that a combination of environmental and genetic factors are involved. They do know that mutations in the DNA of blood cells are involved and that these mutations cause the affected cells to grow and divide more rapidly than is normal. Eventually, the abnormal blood cells crowd out the healthy ones.
Scientists have also discovered certain risk factors that increase a person’s chances of developing leukemia. For example, a susceptibility to leukemia does run in some families. Similarly, some genetic disorders, such as Down syndrome, can increase the chances of a patient developing leukemia.
Smoking increases the risk of developing acute myelogenous leukemia. Similarly, exposure to certain chemicals increases the risk of developing leukemia. Also, radiation therapy and chemotherapy both increase the chances of developing some types of leukemia.
Symptoms of leukemia will vary depending on the type of leukemia, as will their rate of progression. During the early stages, leukemia symptoms resemble those of the flu and can include fever, fatigue, night sweats, and aches. While flu symptoms generally clear up after a couple of weeks, leukemia symptoms do not. Other symptoms of leukemia can include the following:
Leukemia can also cause a variety of unpleasant side effects. For example, the patient will develop leukopenia or an abnormally low white blood cell count. As white blood cells are part of the immune system, leukopenia is accompanied by an increased vulnerability to infection and illness.
Leukemia can also impair the body’s ability to produce other types of blood cells. In anemia, for example, the patient has an abnormally low red blood cell count. As red blood cells transport oxygen around the body, anemia can cause symptoms like fatigue, weakness, and shortness of breath.
In thrombocytopenia, the patient has an abnormally low platelet count. Platelets help the blood clot, so a patient with thrombocytopenia will bleed or bruise more readily than normal.
The abnormal blood cells will often accumulate in the liver or spleen and cause the affected organ to become swollen and enlarged. The patient will thus develop a swelling in the upper left side of their abdomen. They may also experience a feeling of fullness that can reduce their appetite.
In some cases, leukemia will spread to the lymph nodes and cause them to swell. The patient will develop swollen places on their neck, groin, or armpits.
The doctor will start by physically examining the patient. If the patient has symptoms indicative of leukemia, the doctor will order blood tests. An abnormally low white blood cell count indicates that the patient probably has leukemia. The doctor’s next step will be to confirm the diagnosis and determine the type of leukemia.
To those ends, the doctor will take a biopsy of bone marrow cells from the patient’s hip and look for cancer cells and abnormalities in the patient’s DNA.
Treatment for leukemia will depend on many factors, including the type of leukemia, as well as the patient’s age and overall health. The doctor will also need to consider if the leukemia has spread to other parts of the body.
Acute leukemia requires far more aggressive treatment than does chronic leukemia because it can progress so rapidly. The doctor’s goal in treating a patient with acute leukemia will be to get them to a stage of remission. The patient will stay in a private room in the hospital to reduce their risks of contracting any kind of infection. The doctor will also prescribe antibiotics to treat or prevent infection. Since patients with acute leukemia have extremely few healthy blood cells, they will also receive blood transfusions.
In chronic leukemia, the doctor’s main goal, at least at first, will be controlling the symptoms. They will thus start by prescribing medications. After the symptoms are under control, the doctor will order a stem cell transplant.
Chemotherapy is the most common treatment for leukemia, especially acute leukemia. The doctor will administer medications to kill the cancer cells. They may give the patient a single drug or a cocktail of several different drugs. The doctor may administer the treatment intravenously or give it to the patient in pill form. In some cases, they will give a patient chemotherapy to prepare them for a stem cell transplant.
During a stem cell transplant, the doctor will replace the patient’s diseased bone marrow with healthy bone marrow. The bone marrow will either come from a donor or an undamaged part of the patient’s body. The doctor will prescribe medications to keep the patient’s body from rejecting the new marrow and to prevent a condition called “graft versus host disease” in which the donated tissues attack the patient’s body.
In radiation therapy, the doctor will use high-energy beams like X-rays to damage the cancer cells and thus stop their growth. A large machine that emits the rays will move around the patient who will lie on a table during treatment. The doctor may treat the patient’s whole body, or they may choose a specific area where the cancer cells are concentrated. In some cases, the patient will undergo radiation therapy in preparation for a stem cell transplant.
In targeted therapy, the doctor will administer drugs that target specific weaknesses in the cancer cells. For example, a drug called imatinib affects a protein in cancers and keeps it from functioning properly.
Biological therapy works by giving the patient drugs that strengthen the patient’s immune system so it will recognize and fight cancer cells.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional consultation or advice related to your health or finances. No reference to an identifiable individual or company is intended as an endorsement thereof. Some or all of this article may have been generated using artificial intelligence, and it may contain certain inaccuracies or unreliable information. Readers should not rely on this article for information and should consult with professionals for personal advice.