Leukemia a well-known disease is referred to as cancer of the blood. It is the cancer of the tissues of the body that form blood including the lymphatic system and bone marrow. Leukemia is the most common cancer in children and teens below twenty years of age but occurs most often in adults above 55 years of age. Leukemia cells are cells which are abnormal therefore they cannot perform the functions of normal blood cells and also overshadow the normal blood-forming cells. They cannot fight infections in the body due to decreased white blood cells; there is lack of red blood cells to transport oxygen, so the patient gets tired often and appears pale. Also, the patient may present with easy bruising and uncontrolled bleeding due to lack of platelets for blood clotting. In a year, there is a 35 out of 1 million chance of developing leukemia which makes it the most commonly diagnosed cancers.

How Leukemia is formed

Due to some kind of malformation, cell growth and division becomes very rapid, and even when healthy cells mature and die, these ones still continue to live. After a period of time the cells which are deformed cluster the healthy blood cells in the bone marrow, these results in a reduced number of healthy red, white blood cells and platelets leading to the presence of the signs and symptoms of leukemia.

Risk Factors for Leukemia

  1. Gender: Men are more likely to develop leukemia than women.
  2. Age
  3. The family history of the disease: there is an increased risk of being diagnosed with leukemia if a family member is affected by the same disease.
  4. Previous cancer treatment: If you have been treated for a different type of cancer with radiotherapy or chemotherapy then there is an increased possibility of being diagnosed with leukemia as these treatments are a risk.
  5. Genetic disease: Some genetic deformation can play a role in the development of the disease such as Down syndrome.
  6. Exposure to radiation in high levels: In a case of high energy radiation like atomic bomb explosion or low energy radiation like power lines, these are risk factors too.
  7. Chemical exposure: for people dealing with pesticides and benzene or other industrial chemicals, long-term exposure is a risk for leukemia.
  8. Smoking: This increases the risk of acute myeloid leukemia.

Classification according to the speed of progression

  1. Acute leukemia: In this case, the deformed blood cells are blasts (immature blood cells). The growth of the cells is rapid and normal function cannot be carried out. This leads to the quick deterioration of patient as the disease worsens quite fast.
  2. Chronic leukemia: Chronic leukemia has various types. In some, too few cells are produced and in some so many cells are produced. In chronic leukemia, more mature cells are involved. In this case, the cells can function for a period of time, and the blood cells tend to duplicate and collect more slowly. Some types of chronic leukemia go years without being diagnosed or recognized as it usually does not produce symptoms in its early stages.

Classification according to the type of blood cells affected

  1. Lymphocytic leukemia: lymphocytes are affected (lymphoid cells). These are responsible for the formation of the lymphatic tissue. The immune system is made up of the lymphatic tissues.
  2. Myelogenous leukemia: myeloid cells are affected. Myeloid cells initiate red blood cells, white blood cell, and platelet-producing

Types of Leukemia

  1. Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL): This type of leukemia is the most common type of leukemia in young children even though ALL can also be seen in adults.
  2. Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML);AML is a prevalent type of leukemia. It has been seen in both children and adults. AML happens to be the most common type of acute leukemia in adults.
  3. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL): CLL is the most common chronic adult leukemia, treatment may not be required for years as the patient may feel well.
  4. Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML): This type mainly affects adults. A patient suffering from CML may have few or no symptoms at all for months to years before reaching a phase where the leukemia cells start to multiply.
  5. Other types: There are other rare types of leukemia, and these include hairy cell leukemia, myelodysplastic syndromes, and myeloproliferative disorders.

Signs and Symptoms of leukemia

These vary according to the type of leukemia but here are the common signs and symptom:

  • Fever(high temperature) or feeling of chills
  • Persistent tiredness and weakness which do not stop after rest
  • Frequent or severe infections
  • Weight loss without trying
  • Enlarged painless lymph nodes dominant in the neck and armpit
  • Increase in size of liver or spleen
  • The patient bleeds or bruises easily
  • Repeated nosebleeds
  • Tiny red spots on your skin referred to as petechiae
  • Uncontrolled sweating, especially at night (night sweats)
  • Bone pain or tenderness

Symptoms can also be caused in organs which have been infected or invaded by the cancer cells. Organs like lungs, heart, testes, gastrointestinal tract, and kidneys can be affected. For instance, if there is the spread of cancer to the central nervous system, the patient can develop symptoms like nausea, vomiting, seizures, headaches, confusion, and loss of muscle control.

Treatment of Leukemia

Treatment of leukemia usually depends on the type and stage of the disease.

  • Chemotherapy: This is the use drugs to kill leukemia The patient may take either a single drug or a combination of different drugs depending on the type of leukemia.
  • Radiation therapy: is the use of high-energy radiation to destroy leukemia cells and stop their growth. Application of radiation can be either to a specific area or the entire body.
  • Stem cell transplantation substitutes affected bone marrow with healthy bone marrow; it could be from you (called autologous transplantation) or from a donor (called allogeneic transplantation). This procedure is commonly referred to as bone marrow transplant.
  • Biological or immune therapy: this is the use of treatments which enables your immune system to identify and strike cancer cells.
  • Targeted therapy: this is the use of drugs that take advantage of weaknesses in cancer cells.

Leukemia is cancer of blood cells. Not all patients who have leukemia actually have the risk factors for leukemia. Leukemia treatment tends to be complicated, but that relies on the type of leukemia and other things. There are strategies and resources that can help to make treatment a success.

 

 

References

Leukemia – Symptoms and causes. (2018). Mayo Clinic. Retrieved 20 April 2018, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/leukemia/symptoms-causes/syc-20374373

Leukemia: Integrative Treatment Program | CTCA. (2018). CancerCenter.com. Retrieved 20 April 2018, from https://www.cancercenter.com/leukemia/

Lights, V., Reed-Guy, L., & Boskey, E. (2017). Leukemia: Risk Factors, Symptoms, Types, and TreatmentHealthline. Retrieved 20 April 2018, from https://www.healthline.com/health/leukemia#treatment