What is Leukaemia?

Overview

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Leukaemia is cancer of the blood.  The causes are not yet fully known, and a cure is by no means certain.  Despite huge medical advances, leukaemia remains the most devastating disease. "If you are Black or Mixed-Race and diagnosed with LEUKAEMIA Cancer or certain types of blood disorder illness, your chances of finding a bone marrow match is 1 in 100,000+ in comparison to Whites (Caucasians) 1 in 5."

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Leukemia is a form of cancer that begins in the blood-forming cells of the bone marrow - the soft, inner part of the bones. Leukemia - which literally means "white blood" in Greek - occurs when there is an excess of abnormal white blood cells in the blood. Known as leukocytes, these cells are so plentiful in some individuals that the blood actually has a whitish tinge.

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Under normal circumstances, the blood-forming, or hematopoietic, cells of the bone marrow make leukocytes to defend the body against infectious organisms such as viruses and bacteria. But if some leukocytes are damaged and remain in an immature form, they become poor infection fighters that multiply excessively and do not die off as they should.

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The leukemic cells accumulate and lessen the production of oxygen-carrying red blood cells (eythrocytes), blood-clotting cells (platelets), and normal leukocytes. If untreated, the surplus leukemic cells overwhelm the bone marrow, enter the bloodstream, and eventually invade other parts of the body, such as the lymph nodes, spleen, liver, and central nervous system (brain, spinal cord). In this way, the behavior of leukemia is different than that of other cancers, which usually begin in major organs and ultimately spread to the bone marrow.

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There are more than a dozen varieties of leukemia, but the following four types are the most common:

• acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL),

• acute myelogenous leukemia (AML),

• chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and

• chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) .

Acute leukemias usually develop suddenly, whereas some chronic varieties may exist for years before they are diagnosed.

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Leukemia often is thought to be a childhood disease. In fact, leukemia strikes 10 times as many adults as children. Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) is the most frequently reported form of leukemia in adults. About 41% of the 30,200 latest cases will have chronic leukemia - an estimated 7,800 chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cases and 4,500 chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) cases. In addition, hairy cell leukemia (HCL), a slow-growing lymphocytic cancer, will account for about 604 cases (2% of all leukemias).

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Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) is the most common adult form of leukemia, affecting nearly 5 in every 100,000 men each year. Chronic leukemia, like many other cancers, is a "disease of old age." The average age of individuals with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is roughly 70 years, and the average age of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) patients is 40 to 50 years. By contrast, acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) is largely a pediatric disease, usually appearing in children who are under 10 years of age. In general, leukemia affects more men than women throughout the world, although the male:female ratio is highest in CLL patients in Western countries.

Bone Marrow & Blood Formation

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In humans, the bones are not solid, but are made up of two distinct regions. The outer, weight-bearing area is hard, compact, and calcium-based. It surrounds a lattice-work of fibrous bone known as cancellous tissue. The inner region, or marrow - which is one of the largest organs of the body - is located within the bones.

It fills the shafts of the long bones, the trabeculae (spaces within cancellous tissue), and even extends into the bony canals that hold the blood vessels. Read more

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Symthoms

The first indications of leukemia often are nonspecific or vague. They may occur with other cancerous as well as noncancerous disorders. Although signs and symptoms vary for each type of leukemia, there are some general features. Broad symptoms of leukemia may include:

• Fatigue

• Malaise (vague feeling of bodily discomfort)

• Abnormal bleeding

• Excessive bruising

• Weakness

• Reduced exercise tolerance

• Weight loss

• Bone or joint pain

• Infection and fever

• Abdominal pain or "fullness"

• Enlarged spleen, lymph nodes, and liver. Read more

Diagnosis

Once the physician suspects that a patient's blood is abnormal, he or she will want to perform blood and bone marrow tests to rule out leukemia. Additional tissue samples may be needed to confirm the diagnosis or to help plan treatment .

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Blood Tests
In cases of questionable leukemia, a number of blood tests are performed. Such tests evaluate the type and quantity of blood cells that are present, the blood chemistry, and other factors.

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Full blood count

Full blood count to establish the numbers of different blood cell types within the circulation. Low numbers of red or white blood cells are described as anemia or leukopenia, respectively. Read more