The median age of a patient diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is 65 years and older. However, most cases of acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) occur in people under 20 years old. The median age of an ALL patient at diagnosis is 15.
Chronic Leukemia May Go Undetected
It may take months or even several years before the disease begins to cause symptoms that alert the patient that something is wrong.
A person of any age can be diagnosed with ALL, but most cases occur in children. In children and teens under age 20, ALL is the most common type of leukemia, accounting for 75% of all leukemia diagnosed in this age group. Children younger than 5 have the highest risk of ALL. (Learn more about childhood ALL statistics.)
The child with leukemia often shows symptoms of an infection such as fever, runny nose, and cough. Bone and joint pain. Pain in bones and joints is another common symptom of leukemia. This pain is usually a result of the bone marrow being overcrowded and full.
Because some forms of leukemia are rare in children, pediatricians often mistake the symptoms for typical childhood injuries or illnesses. A child may exhibit symptoms of headaches, nausea, or vomiting, for example, and the pediatrician may misdiagnose the child with stomach flu.
Most childhood leukemias are caused by chance mutations in the genes of white blood cells. Except for rare genetic cases, little is known about the causes of these diseases. Scientists are hard at work trying to learn how these mutations happen. The immune system plays a key role in protecting the body from diseases.
If caught early, leukemia can be cured by undergoing several cancer treatments.
Your doctor will conduct a complete blood count (CBC) to determine if you have leukemia. This test may reveal if you have leukemic cells. Abnormal levels of white blood cells and abnormally low red blood cell or platelet counts can also indicate leukemia.
While leukemia bruises can form anywhere on the body, they are most commonly found on the arms and legs.
Some signs of leukemia, like night sweats, fever, fatigue and achiness, resemble flu-like symptoms. Unlike symptoms of the flu, which generally subside as patients get better, leukemia symptoms generally last longer than two weeks, and may include sudden weight loss, bone and joint pain and easy bleeding or bruising.
135000. people are living with blood cancer or a related blood disorder in Australia today.
Stage I: The patient has lymphocytosis and enlarged lymph nodes. The patient does not have an enlarged liver or spleen, anemia, or low levels of platelets. Stage II: The patient has lymphocytosis and an enlarged spleen and/or liver and may or may not have swollen lymph nodes.
Acute leukemia symptoms can often appear suddenly
With acute leukemia, symptoms tend to develop very quickly. You may suddenly spike a fever that won't go away, develop an infection for no apparent reason, or start bleeding spontaneously from your nose or gums and not be able to stop it.
Leukemia starts in the soft, inner part of the bones (bone marrow), but often moves quickly into the blood. It can then spread to other parts of the body, such as the lymph nodes, spleen, liver, central nervous system and other organs.
People in stages 0 to II may live for 5 to 20 years without treatment. CLL has a very high incidence rate in people older than 60 years. CLL affects men more than women. If the disease has affected the B cells, the person's life expectancy can range from 10 to 20 years.
What is the outlook for chronic lymphocytic leukemia? Around 87% of people with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) live for 5 or more years following diagnosis. Although doctors cannot often cure the disease, a person can live with this form of leukemia for many years.
Among the recognized environmental risk factors are high and low birth weight and sex as well as high to moderate doses of ionizing radiation.
With advances in treatment, children with the disease have up to a 90% survival rate, with many going on to live happy, productive lives. Leukemia is the most common type of childhood cancer that we treat at Yale Medicine, and one in which our physicians have extensive experience.
Who gets leukemia? Although it is often thought of as a children's disease, most cases of leukemia occur in older adults. More than half of all leukemia cases occur in people over the age of 65.
Leukemia cells that spread to the skin can lead to the appearance of small, dark, rash-like spots. Doctors call this collection of cells a chloroma or a granulocytic sarcoma, and it is very rare. The bruising and bleeding that characterize leukemia can also cause tiny spots on the skin called petechiae to appear.