WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT LEUKEMIA?
Leukemia is a cancer of the body’s blood-forming tissues, including the bone marrow and the lymphatic system.
Many types of leukemia exist. Some forms of leukemia are more common in children. Other forms of leukemia occur mostly in adults.
Leukemia usually involves white blood cells. Your white blood cells are potent infection fighters—they normally grow and divide in an orderly way, as your body needs them. But in people with leukemia, the bone marrow produces an excessive number of abnormal white blood cells, which don’t function properly.
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Treatment for leukemia can be complex, depending on the type of leukemia and other factors. But there are strategies and resources that can help make your treatment successful.
Symptoms
Leukemia symptoms vary depending on the type of leukemia. Common leukemia signs and symptoms include:
- Fever or chills?
- Persistent fatigue, weakness
- Frequent or severe infections
- Losing weight without trying
- Swollen lymph nodes, enlarged liver or spleen
- Easy bleeding or bruising
- Recurrent nosebleeds
- Tiny red spots on your skin (petechiae)
- Excessive sweating, especially at night
- Bone pain or tenderness
When to see a doctor
Make an appointment with your doctor if you have any persistent signs or symptoms that worry you.
Leukemia symptoms are often vague and not specific. Early signs of leukemia may be hard to notice because they are similar to signs of the flu and other common illnesses.
Sometimes leukemia is discovered during blood tests for some other condition.
Causes
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Scientists don’t understand the exact causes of leukemia. It seems to develop from a combination of genetic and environmental factors.
How leukemia forms
In general, leukemia is thought to occur when some blood cells acquire changes (mutations) in their genetic material, or DNA. A cell’s DNA contains the instructions that tell a cell what to do. Normally, the DNA tells the cell to grow at a set rate and to die at a set time. In leukemia, the mutations tell the blood cells to continue growing and dividing.
When this happens, blood cell production becomes out of control. Over time, these abnormal cells can crowd out healthy blood cells in the bone marrow, leading to fewer healthy white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets, causing the signs and symptoms of leukemia.
How leukemia is classified
Doctors put leukemia into different groups based on how quickly it spreads and what kinds of cells are affected.
The first type of classification is by how fast the leukemia progresses:
- Acute leukemia In acute leukemia, the abnormal blood cells are immature blood cells (blasts). They can’t carry out their normal functions, and they multiply rapidly, so the disease worsens quickly. Acute leukemia requires aggressive, timely treatment.
- Chronic leukemia There are many types of chronic leukemia. Some produce too many cells, and some cause too few cells to be produced. Chronic leukemia involves more mature blood cells. These white blood cells replicate or accumulate more slowly and can function normally for a period of time. Some types of chronic leukemia don’t show any early signs at first, so they can go unnoticed or undiagnosed for years.
The second type of classification is by the type of white blood cell affected.
- Lymphocytic leukemia This type of leukemia affects the lymphoid cells (lymphocytes), which form lymphoid or lymphatic tissue. Lymphatic tissue makes up your immune system.
- Myelogenous (my-uh-LOHJ-uh-nus) leukemia This type of leukemia affects the myeloid cells. Myeloid cells give rise to red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelet-producing cells.
Types of leukemia
The major types of leukemia are:
- Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). This is the most common type of leukemia in young children. All can also occur in adults.
- Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) AML is a common type of leukemia. It occurs in children and adults. AML is the most common type of acute leukemia in adults.
- Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) With CLL, the most common chronic adult leukemia, you may feel well for years without needing treatment.
- Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) This type of leukemia mainly affects adults. A person with CML may have few or no symptoms for months or years before entering a phase in which the leukemia cells grow more quickly.
- Other types Other, rarer types of leukemia exist, including hairy cell leukemia, myelodysplastic syndromes, and myeloproliferative disorders.
Risk factors
Factors that may increase your risk of developing some types of leukemia include:
- Previous cancer treatment People who’ve had certain types of chemotherapy and radiation therapy for other cancers have an increased risk of developing certain types of leukemia.
- Genetic disorders Genetic abnormalities seem to play a role in the development of leukemia. Leukemia is more likely to happen in people with certain genetic disorders, like Down syndrome.
- exposure to certain chemicals. Exposure to certain chemicals, such as benzene—which is found in gasoline and is used by the chemical industry—is linked to an increased risk of some kinds of leukemia.
- smoking. Smoking cigarettes increases the risk of acute myelogenous leukemia.
- family history of leukemia. If members of your family have been diagnosed with leukemia, your risk of the disease may be increased.
However, most people with known risk factors don’t get leukemia. And many people with leukemia have none of these risk factors.
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