Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHow It DevelopsTypesSymptomsCausesDiagnosisClassificationsStagingTreatmentOutlookSupportNext in Leukemia GuideLeukemia: Signs, Symptoms, and Complications
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
How It Develops
Types
Symptoms
Causes
Diagnosis
Classifications
Staging
Treatment
Outlook
Support
Next in Leukemia Guide
Leukemiais a form of blood cancer that starts in yourbone marrow, the spongy tissue inside your bones. It occurs when abnormal cells grow too fast and survive too long. Over time, the abnormal cells overtake the normal cells. Symptoms occur as the normal cells fail to perform their tasks, leading to infections and pain.
There are many forms of this disease. Symptoms can progress quickly or slowly, based on the form of leukemia you have. Knowing the type of disease you have is key to choosing the right treatment and getting the best results. While the disease can’t truly be cured, you can achieve a state in which symptoms and leukemia cells don’t appear for years.
This article describes leukemia types, symptoms, causes, staging, and treatments.
Chayaporn Yemjuntuek / Getty Images
How Does Leukemia Develop and Spread?
Leukemia develops when your bone marrow rapidly produces abnormalwhite blood cellscalled leukemia cells. These cells reproduce faster than normal cells and don’t die when they should.
As they increase, leukemia cells outnumber normal white blood cells, and the disease may affect the production of red blood cells and platelets. This can make it hard for normal cells to perform their functions like fighting infection or stopping bleeding. It also prevents your bone marrow from making more normal blood cells.
As more leukemia cells crowd your bone marrow, they eventually overwhelm the bone marrow and enter the bloodstream. This allows them to circulate through your body and affect other areas like your lymph nodes or other organs.
Types of Leukemia
There are four main types of leukemia:
White Blood Cell Disorders Facts and Statistics: What You Need to Know
Leukemia Symptoms
Manyleukemia symptomscan resemble other blood disorders or diseases. Symptoms can differ based on the type of leukemia and the age of diagnosis. If any of the following symptoms occur for two weeks or longer without improvement, contact your healthcare provider for an examination.
Early Signs
Many early signs of leukemia may easily be overlooked or attributed to other causes. These signs and symptoms include the following:
As It Spreads
Leukemia symptoms tend to become more frequent and severe over time as more abnormal white blood cells are produced. However, it is hard to identify the disease stage from symptoms alone.
Early symptoms that occur with acute forms of leukemia, like ALL or AML, can begin and intensify suddenly over a matter of days or weeks. They become more severe faster than those that occur with chronic forms of leukemia.
Early symptoms of chronic types of leukemia (CLL or CML) can develop slowly, taking months or years to appear even though the disease is present.
Signs of Leukemia in Kids
While children can experience leukemia symptoms differently, they can have many of the same signs of leukemia that occur in adults. The most common signs of leukemia in kids include the following:
What Causes Leukemia?
Leukemia results from gene mutations that lead to the development of leukemia cells in your bone marrow. These cells grow faster and live longer than normal cells. These abnormal cells overwhelm the development of healthy cells, interfering with the functions that they usually support.
While the exactcauses of leukemiaare unknown, there are several known risk factors for this disease.
Risk Factors for Leukemia
The most prevalent risk factors for leukemia include the following:
What Age Group Gets Leukemia Most Often?Adults over 65 years old have the highest risk for leukemia. The median age of diagnosis for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), or chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is 65 years and older. However, 15 years is the median age of diagnosis for acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL).
What Age Group Gets Leukemia Most Often?
Adults over 65 years old have the highest risk for leukemia. The median age of diagnosis for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), or chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is 65 years and older. However, 15 years is the median age of diagnosis for acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL).
How Is Leukemia Diagnosed?
Several steps are involved inconfirming a leukemia diagnosisand monitoring disease progression. Your healthcare provider will use one or more of the following tests to determine whether you have leukemia:
Testing
Your healthcare provider will use one or more of the following tests to determine whether you have leukemia:
Assessing Progression
Testing is often an important part of your ongoing and follow-up care. Some tests may be repeated at predetermined intervals. The following tests can help guide treatment, show how your body responds to therapy, and determine disease progression:
How Leukemia Is Diagnosed
Leukemia Classifications
By Speed of Progression
Leukemia classifications based on speed or progression define leukemia as acute or chronic based on the following characteristics:
By Cell Type
Leukemia classifications based on cell type define leukemia as being myeloid or lymphocytic using the following criteria:
Chronic Myeloid Leukemia vs. Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: What Are the Differences?
Leukemia Staging
Leukemia staging involves the process of identifying how much cancer is in your body and how far it has spread. It is used to create a prognosis and determine a treatment plan based on these characteristics. Leukemia staging defines your diagnosis in a language that everyone in your healthcare team understands.
While the staging of most types of cancer involves an assessment of tumor size and spread, leukemia staging, except for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), is based on a different set of criteria because it involves your blood cells. Each type of leukemia has a standard system for stating. The factors involved in leukemia prognosis and staging include:
Leukemia Treatment
Leukemia treatmentaims to put the disease into remission and eventually achieve a cure. There are several options for treatment. Your treatment regimen is based on the following factors:
Based on these factors, your personalized leukemia treatment plan will include one or more of the following therapies:
Is Leukemia Curable?
Leukemia is described as cured when you remain in remission, a state without detectable signs of cancer in your bone marrow or blood counts, for an extended period of time. When you reach this stage, you have an extremely low chance of the disease recurring.
Outlook for Leukemia
The average five-year relative survival rate for people diagnosed with leukemia in the United States is 65%. This describes the percentage of people who are alive five years after they were diagnosed with or started treatment for leukemia. However, this rate does not reflect individual cases and can vary based on many factors, including type of leukemia:
The survival rate does not determine your individual prognosis. Other factors that can impact your prognosis include the following:
Living With Leukemia: Support and Resources
There are many aspects to living with leukemia. You will have to manage a wide range of physical and emotional challenges in maintaining your well-being from diagnosis through treatment and for years into your survivorship.
Living with leukemia involves adopting strategies that can help you succeed. To do so, it’s important to remember that you’re not alone. Discuss your concerns with your healthcare provider to determine whether they are realistic and how to address them.
Take advantage of offers from caregivers who reach out to offer support. These connections can help you feel less isolated and avoid feelings of depression.
Seek out other resources, like community-based or online support groups, to connect with people with the same experiences and concerns. Look for blogs, podcasts, and social media groups that can provide support that can benefit you.
The following organizations are among the leading groups providing support and resources for people with leukemia:
Summary
Leukemia begins in your bone marrow when defective blood stem cells grow faster than normal and survive longer than normal. As their numbers increase, leukemia cells prevent the growth of healthy red blood cells and platelets.
There are many forms of this disease. The onset of symptoms can move quickly or slowly, based on the type of leukemia.
With fewer healthy cells, your body loses its power to fight infection. The effect leaves you more likely to suffer from diseases. As the number of abnormal cells grows, they spill into your bloodstream and spread to other areas of your body.
While chemotherapy is the primary treatment method, there are many ways to attack this disease. Clinical trials offer the chance to gain from research into new treatments if standard choices fail.
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