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What is leukemia?
Leukemia is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. The abnormal cells of the bone marrow, where the blood cells are made, turn into leukemic cells. As they grow and multiply, they can crowd out or prevent the development of normal cells. Leukemia occurs most often in adults over 55, but is also the most prevalent cancer in children under the age of 15, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Types of leukemia
We classify leukemia according to the type of white blood cell involved (lymphocytic or myeloid) and its speed. Fast-growing leukemias are called "acute"; slow-growing leukemias are termed "chronic". Children rarely have chronic leukemia. The four main types of leukemia are:
Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) – This type starts in the bone marrow, where the blood cells are made. Abnormal white blood cells multiply and multiply in the bone marrow. It is more common in children than in adults.
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) – This type is the most common in the elderly. It is also known as acute myeloid leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, acute granulocytic leukemia, or acute non-lymphocytic leukemia. It starts in cells that become white blood cells.
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) – This type represents one-third of all leukemias and mainly affects the elderly. It starts in the white blood cells of the bone marrow (lymphocytes) and is considered chronic because it develops slowly.
Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) – This type starts in the hematopoietic cells of the bone marrow before spreading to the blood. It accounts for 10% of all leukemias.
Common symptoms
Warning signs may vary depending on the type of leukemia, but common symptoms include
- Lack of energy
- Shortness of breath during physical activity
- Pale skin
- Slight fever
- Night sweats
- Slow healing of cuts
- Excessive bleeding of the slices
- Bruising without apparent cause
- Red spots the size of a pinhead under the skin
- Pain in the bones or joints
- Low white blood cell count
Some people with chronic leukemia have only mild symptoms or no symptoms, and may discover that they have leukemia only after a routine blood test. People with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) may notice enlarged lymph nodes in the neck, armpit or groin and have frequent infections. People with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) may have an enlarged spleen, night sweats, and unexplained weight loss.
Diagnosis and treatment
The diagnosis of leukemia begins with a complete blood count (CBC) test. The doctor is looking for low levels of platelets and red blood cells, be they high or low levels of white blood cells and the possible presence of real leukemia cells. The next step is a bone marrow aspiration and a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis and identify the type of leukemic cells.
Your doctor uses the results of these tests, including your type of leukemia, along with information about your health history to determine the duration of treatment. Possible treatments include
- Watch and wait – Although it is difficult to do nothing, a watch and watch approach may prove to be the best approach for chronic slow-growing leukemias. During a period of monitoring and waiting, you will receive regular screenings to monitor the progress of the disease.
- Chemotherapy – Traditional chemotherapy uses one or more drugs to attack and kill cancer cells. This type of treatment can also kill normal cells and have serious side effects.
- Targeted therapy – This type of treatment uses drugs to target changes inside cells rather than attacking fast-growing cells in general, as do standard chemotherapy drugs.
- Radiotherapy – X-rays and high doses of radiation are used to kill cancer cells. As with traditional chemotherapy, normal and healthy cells can also be attacked, resulting in serious side effects.
- immunotherapy – A relatively new treatment uses your body's immune system to fight cancer.
- Vaccine therapy – This treatment does not prevent cancer, as its name suggests, but it is used to strengthen or strengthen your immune system in order to fight cancer cells.
- Stem cell transplant – After high doses of chemotherapy, doctors use blood cells, bone marrow or umbilical cord to restore bone marrow.
The treatment of leukemia and other types of blood cancer often includes a combination of treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy and stem cell transplantation. Discuss with your doctor the advantages and disadvantages of different types of treatment and which one would suit you best.
In addition to these treatments, clinical trials are underway to find new and effective ways to treat leukemia. The National Cancer Institute provides information on clinical trials.
Risk factors
The risk factors and causes of leukemia are mostly unknown.
Exposure to radiation and certain chemicals in the environment, including tobacco smoke, are the major known risk factors for leukemia, especially AML. Having already undergone radiotherapy or chemotherapy for other cancers also increases the risk of developing AML. In addition, having a parent, a child or a brother with an LLC makes you two to four times more likely to develop this disease yourself. Down syndrome, some other genetic diseases or disorders of bone marrow failure, called myelodysplastic syndromes, may also slightly increase the risk of leukemia.
However, many people with one or more risk factors never develop leukemia and, conversely, most make developing leukemia has no risk factor as we know it.
See more useful articles:
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Transplant. The donor? His sister
Western Diet Linked to Higher Risk of Leukemia
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