What is leukemia?

Leukemia is a type of blood cancer that affects white blood cells. White blood cells have an important job to do — they help your body fight off infections.

Leukemia develops when bone marrow begins to produce too many irregular white blood cells. These damaged cells build up in your body and begin to crowd out healthy the healthy ones, making it difficult to fight infections.

Because it is a cancer in the blood, leukemia does not exist as a tumor inside the body.

Types of leukemia

There are several types of leukemia, including:

• Acute lymphocytic leukemia – Most commonly seen in children, this type of leukemia affects both the blood and bone marrow.
• Acute myeloid leukemia – Most commonly seen in adults, this type can form in different types of abnormal cells: white or red blood cells, or platelets.
• Chronic lymphocytic leukemia – Can be either slow- or fast-growing and makes up around 30% of all leukemia diagnoses.
• Chronic myeloid leukemia – The rarest form of leukemia, this type tends to grow slowly.
• Hairy cell leukemia – A rare and slow-growing form of leukemia, this type is named for how cells appear under a microscope.

Symptoms of leukemia

Leukemia often does not produce any symptoms in its early stages. Additionally, different stages of leukemia produce different symptoms.

Symptoms of leukemia commonly include:

• Bone pain
• Sudden, unintentional weight loss
• Persistent fever or chills
• Excessive sweating, especially at night
• Fatigue
• Red spots or a rash on your skin
• Frequent nosebleeds

Having one or more of these symptoms does not mean you have leukemia. However, it’s still important to talk to your doctor, as these can be signs of an underlying health issue.

Leukemia risk factors

Certain behaviors, risk factors and genetics can increase your chances of developing leukemia. These include

• Smoking: Tobacco use, including smokeless tobacco, cigarettes and pipes, increases your risk of developing leukemia.
• Family history: If you have a family member who has been diagnosed with leukemia, your risk of developing leukemia is higher.
• Other risk factors: Other factors that can raise the risk of developing leukemia include:
  • Environmental exposure to certain industrial chemicals such as benzene
  • Previous exposure to radiation (usually due to chemotherapy or radiation treatment)
  • Rare bone marrow conditions

Diagnosing leukemia

Because leukemia symptoms may not appear until the disease is in its later stages, this type of blood cancer can be difficult to diagnose.

We offer screening tests that use the most advanced technology to better detect leukemia in its earliest stages, when it’s most treatable. Some of the diagnostic tests your doctor may perform to test for blood cancer include:

• Physical examination – Your doctor will first review your medical history, asking you questions about the symptoms you’ve experienced and how long you’ve had them.
  They may order more testing if they notice any signs or symptoms of leukemia, such as enlarged lymph nodes, persistent bruising or swelling in your abdomen.
• Blood tests – Your doctor may order a complete blood count test, which will look for abnormalities in the amount of white blood cells you have.
• Bone marrow biopsy – During a biopsy, your doctor removes a small piece of bone, as well a small amount of bone marrow, using a thin needle or a surgical procedure. Then they examine the samples under a microscope to find out if they contain cancerous cells (also called malignant cells).
• Bone marrow aspiration – During this test, your doctor will insert a thin, hollow needle into your bone in order to remove a small amount of bone marrow liquid.
• Imaging tests – Imaging tests, such as MRIs, CT scans and PET scans, are used to look for enlarged organs or lymph nodes, or to see if cancerous cells have spread to other areas of the body.
• Spinal tap – During this procedure, your doctor uses a needle to take a small amount of spinal fluid. Then they can identify whether cancerous cells have spread to your central nervous system.