BLOOD CANCER (LEUKEMIA)

Blood cancer which is commonly known as leukemia is a disease that affects blood-forming cells in the body.it is a cancerous condition characterized by an abundance of abnormal white blood cells in the body. Leukemia begins in the bone marrow and spreads to other parts of the body. Both children and adults can develop leukemia.

Leukemia is a type of cancer that affects the bone marrow and blood. Marrow is the tissue found within the hallow spaces of your bones where “hematopoiesis” or blood cell formation takes place.

There are four main types of leukemia:

1. Acute Myelogenous or myeloid Leukemia (AML)
2. Acute Lymphocytic (or lymphoblastic) Leukemia (ALL)
3. Chronic Myelogenous (or myeloid) Leukemia (CML)
4. Chronic Lymphocytic (or lymphoblastic) Leukemia (CLL)

Lymphocytic Vs. Myelogenous Leukemia

Leukemia is called “lymphocytic” or “lymphoblastic” if the cancerous change begins in a type of marrow cell that forms lymphocytes, which is a type of white cell. Leukemia is called “myelogenous” or “myeloid” if the cancerous change begins in a type of bone marrow cell that, when healthy, goes on to form red blood cells, platelets, and some kinds of white blood cells.

Acute Leukemia

Acute leukemia arise from young immature “blast” cells, myoblasts or lymphoblast. These acute leukemia cells are nonfunctional and do not work like normal cells. They crowd out the normal cells in the bone marrow, which causes a decrease in the number of new normal cells made in the marrow. Without treatment, acute leukemia will progress rapidly.

Chronic Leukemia

Chronic leukemia has little or no immature “blast” cells and usually progress more slowly than acute leukemia. The chronic xylogenous Leukemia (CML) cell ,makes blood cells that function almost normally, but the counts become so high that they crowd out the production of other cells such as red blood cells.

In chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) too many lymphocytes that do not function are produced. These abnormal cells replace and interfere with the work of normal lymphocytes in the marrow lymph nodes and weaken the body’s immune system. Overtime, both CML and CLL have the potential to transform into aggressive acute leukemia.

TYPES OF LEUKEMIA>

Leukemia can be divided into four different types. It is first classified as acute or chronic.

In chronic leukemia, the leukemia cells come from mature, abnormal cells. The cells thrive for too long and accumulate. These type of cells slowly multiply. Acute leukemia, on the other hand, develop from early cells, called “blasts” which are young called that divide frequently. In acute leukemia cells, they don’t stop dividing like their normal counterparts do.

Xylogenous Vs Lymphocytic

after being classified as acute or chronic, it is the classified by the type of cells in which the leukemia started from. It can either be xylogenous or lymphocytic. Xylogenous leukemia develops from myeloid cells. The disease can either be chronic or acute, referred to as chronic xylogenous leukemia (CML) and acute xylogenous leukemia.

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Possible Causes and Risk Factors of Blood Cancer

Researchers have identified several causes and risk factors of leukemia. It happens in :

1. People older than 60 years of age, but can occur in younger people
2. People who smoke
3. People who have undergone previous chemotherapy or Radiation therapy.
4. People infected with human T-cell leukemia virus, a virus that infects T-cells that is spread by sharing syringes and used to inject drugs: through blood transfusion; through sexual contact: and from mother to child at birth or through breast feeding
5. People with myelodysplastic syndrome, a blood dis order
6. . People with Down syndrome.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF BLOOD CANCER

Leukemia symptoms can occur all of a sudden gradually. The symptoms are broad, but there are specific signs of leukemia to keep an eye out for:

1. fever
2. infection
3. Excessive bruising
4. Fatigue
5. Physical exercise intolerance
6. Abdominal pain, or generally feeling fullness
7. Weight loss
8. Abnormal bleeding
9. Enlargement of the lymph nodes, spleen and /or liver
10. Weakness

The signs and symptoms that a person with acute leukemia displays are the result of low numbers of red blood cells (or oxygen carrying cells), platelets (which assist in blood clot formation0, and white blood cells (which help prevent infection) the diseased marrow is able to produce.

Signs and symptoms of Acute leukemia may include:

1. Feeling tired, low energy.
2. Difficulty in breathing when doing regular activities
3. Pallor or pale skin
4. Fevers or night sweats
5. Cuts and bruises which take along time to heal
6. Excessive bleeding from minor wounds
7. Tiny red spots under the skin (called “petechaie”)
8. Achy bones or joints
9. Frequent infections or illness that you can’t seem to “(fight off)”

Many chronic leukemia patients will have no signs and symptoms and often discover they have the disease after blood work from a routine checkup. Other times, if the disease is more advanced, they may experience similar symptoms acute leukemia patients. The signs of leukemia may be vague and can confuse for many other illnesses. If you are concerned about the symptoms you are experiencing, it is always a good idea to seek advice from your healthcare provider.

Diagnosis of blood cancer

A doctor may suspect you have leukemia after completing a physical or if you report experiencing the symptoms of leukemia. There are instances where leukemia is suspected from results of blood tests performed for other reasons. There are several tests a doctor may use to diagnose leukemia, ranging from blood tests to spinal taps

Physical Exam . During a physical exam, a doctor may look for lumps, other abnormalities or symptoms of leukemia. A thorough medical history will be taken and the patients can report a history of leukemia or any symptoms or risk factors.

Blood Test Blood test, such as complete blood count (CBC) can detect leukemia. A CBC determines the number of red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. It also can count the number of red blood cells that make up the blood samples and the amount of hemoglobin in the blood.

other blood tests that may be used to diagnose leukemia include:
1. Peripheral blood smear – determines the presence of blast cells and reveals the type of quality of white blood cells .
2. Cytogenic analysis – Is a blood test in which a sample of blood is examined to check for changes in the chromosomes of the lymphocytes
3. Other various blood tests—other various blood tests may be ordered to see how organs are functioning and if they are being infected with leukemia

Biopsy. A biopsy is a procedure in which a sample of cells are removed from the body to be examined for cancer. Bone marrow biopsy is used to diagnose leukemia. A large bore needle is inserted in the hip or, rarely, the breast bone and sample of the bone is removed and the bone marrow is then aspirated. The material is then examined by pathologist. A lymph node biopsy may also be performed depending on the type of leukemia suspected.

Lumbar Puncture/Spinal Tap. A lumbar puncture or spinal tap may be done to diagnose leukemia. Under an anesthetic, a small amount of spinal fluid is removed from the spaces between the vertebrae in spine. The fluid is then examined by a pathologist.

TREATMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF BLOOD CANCER

Treatment for leukemia varies greatly depending on the type of leukemia and stage of the disease. Many times, leukemia is treated with one or more types of treatment.

Chemotherapy . This is the use of drugs that either kill or prevent the cancer cells from dividing. Chemotherapy can be given with a variety of ways, with IV infusion and pill being more common. The type of chemotherapy given depends on the stage and type of cancer.

Radiation Therapy This is the use of certain types of energy to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors . This energy can be wave or particle like protons, electrons, x-rays and gamma rays.

Biologic therapy. Is a treatment that uses the knowledge specific to the cancer to eliminate it. Substances made by the body or made in a laboratory are used to boost, direct or restore the body’s defenses against cancer or to specifically shut down its division.

Surgery. surgical removal of the spleen is also a treatment option for chronic leukemia. The spleen collects leukemia cells, and they accumulate, causing the spleen to enlarge. An enlarge spleen can cause many complications.

Hematopoietic cells or Bone marrow Transplant is a procedure to replace normal marrow production that has been destroyed by treatment with high doses of anti cancer drugs or radiation. Transplantation may be autologous ( an individual’s own stem cells saved before treatment), allogenic (stem cells donated by some one else) or syngeneic (stem cells donated by an identical twin).

Prevention of blood cancer

Unfortunately there are no proven leukemia prevention methods. Even more sadly, most of the risk factors cannot be avoided like in other types of cancer. We simply cannot avoid aging or having conditions like Down’s syndrome. There are some risk factors we can avoid that may aid leukemia risk reduction, like not smoking. If you smoke cigarettes, now is the time to quit. Smoking puts you at a risk for many types of cancer, including acute xylogenous leukemia. One in every 4cases of AML is linked to smoking.

Reducing your exposure to benzene may reduce your risk of developing leukemia. Benzene is a chemical by product of coal and petroleum, used mainly in gasoline. It is also contained inn other things such as paint, solvents, plastics, pesticides and detergents. People who work in the manufacturing of the products may be putting themselves at risk for leukemia.

Leukemia is a cancer of the bone marrow, and leads to production of abnormal blood cells. Eventually, these abnormal “leukemia cells” will take over the normal blood cells and platelets.

Leukemias are classified by type of cell they developed from (xylogenous or lymphocytic), as well as by how fast the leukemia grows and progresses (acute vs. chronic) although these diseases have common origin, they are all different in their signs and symptoms, how they progress and how they are treated.

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