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Leukemia

When cancer is found in the blood-forming tissues (such as one's bone marrow, lymphatic system, liver, spleen) it is called Leukemia. It is also followed by an excessive production of immature and / or mature leukocytes, with the resulting crowding-out of red blood cells and platelets.

The Cause of Leukemia

Leukemia can strike people at any age, but most types (there are several) are more prevalent in older people. Some possible causes include exposure environmental exposure (to toxic chemicals), some chromosomal abnormalities, prolonged exposure to radiation, various drugs (chemotherapy medicine used in cancer treatment), Recently it was established that infection such as HTLV-I, a close form of the AIDS virus can cause Leukemia.

Varieties of Leukemia

There are several sub-varieties, but Leukemia can be classified as either lymphocytic or myeloid. Further, Leukemia is either acute, referring to a rapidly progressing disease that involves immature leukocytes, or chronic, referring to a slower proliferation involving mature white cells. In acute leukemia, immature nonfunctioning leukocytes called blast cells rapidly proliferate.

Myeloid leukemia affect white blood cells (called myelocytes). These are the cells that become granulocytes (phagocytic white blood cells that mount an inflammatory immune response). This will include all chronic myeloid leukemia and acute myeloid leukemia.

Lymphocytic leukemia affect the white blood cells that become various types of lymphocytes. This includes acute lymphocytic leukemia; chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and hairy cell leukemia (a chronic leukemia named for the cells' tiny hair-like projections).

Lymphocytic leukemia is also referred to as B cell leukemia or T cell leukemia depending upon whether they arise in antibody-producing B cells or in the T cells

Generally childhood leukemia is the acute lymphocytic type; and the acute myeloid leukemia is the most common type of adult leukemia.

Symptoms of Leukemia

The majority of symptoms in acute leukemia can be the result of anemia. This anemia is the result of the attrition of red blood cells as they are crowded out by the leukemia cells. There will be frequent infections from an over-abundance of functioning white blood cells. There may be bone tenderness. Because blood-clotting elements are missing, hemorrhaging may develop. Leukemia cells may congregate in the lymph nodes, spleen, and liver, causing enlargement and pain, and often invade the central nervous system. This causes dizziness, headache, and fever. If left untreated, death arrives quickly in acute leukemia.

Strangely enough, people with chronic leukemia often have no symptoms. Diagnosis is often difficult. However, the same symptoms in a milder form as in acute leukemia may appear. People suffering chromic leukemia usually die from infection.

Treating Leukemia

Treating leukemia is based on the type of cells affected, the stage of the disease, and the age of the patient. Improved treatments have increased survival rates from some types of leukemia considerably. Even slowly progressing forms may require no treatment at all.

The course of treatment can include chemotherapy with anticancer drugs, radiation therapy, blood and plasma transfusions, and bone marrow transplantation.

In bone marrow transplantation, healthy bone marrow (either donated by a closely matched donor or treated marrow from the patient) is infused into the patient after the patient has undergone the course of marrow-destroying very high dose chemotherapy.
It has been established that blood from a newborn infant's umbilical cord and placenta (called cord blood) can also be used effectively instead of marrow transplants in some forms of leukemia.

Immunotherapy (sometimes called Biological therapy) is also employed. This will include the use of monoclonal antibodies; interferon; maturation drugs, such as all-trans retinoic acid; and tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

Immunotherapy will enhance the body's natural reaction to leukemia by bolstering the immune response, and may inhibit the gene that drives cell proliferation. It also may encourage maturation of immature leukemia cells or reproduction of needed healthy blood elements.

There are also other treatments being tested, such as Vitamin A, and other novel biological methods, some with dramatic results being reported.

Cure of Leukemia

Curing leukemia, and survival rates are improving continuously. The treatments are becoming more specific, and the new generations of drugs are proving more effective in increasing the quality of life. As there are so many forms and sub-forms of leukemia, each having its own specific treatment, the cure rate varies. As a general view however, the cure rate overall for Leukemia is improving.