Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is usually suspected when a test finds abnormal blood counts and leukemic cells, or blasts, appear in the blood. Then, the diagnosis is established by examination of the bone marrow via bone marrow aspiration and biopsy.
Even though these findings may suggest leukemia, the disease usually is not diagnosed without looking at a sample of bone marrow cells. Blood chemistry tests: Blood chemistry tests measure the amounts of certain chemicals in the blood, but they are not used to diagnose leukemia.
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.
Persistent fatigue, weakness. Frequent or severe infections. Losing weight without trying. Swollen lymph nodes, enlarged liver or spleen.
Acute leukemias — which are incredibly rare — are the most rapidly progressing cancer we know of. The white cells in the blood grow very quickly, over a matter of days to weeks. Sometimes a patient with acute leukemia has no symptoms or has normal blood work even a few weeks or months before the diagnosis.
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.
Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL): Blood tests of people with ALL often reveal high levels of lymphoblasts (immature white blood cells) and low levels of red blood cells and platelets.
Complete blood count and peripheral blood smear
Changes in the numbers and the appearance of different types of blood cells often help diagnose leukemia. Most patients with AML have too many immature white cells in their blood, and not enough red blood cells or platelets.
Blood tests.
By looking at a sample of your blood, your doctor can determine if you have abnormal levels of red or white blood cells or platelets — which may suggest leukemia. A blood test may also show the presence of leukemia cells, though not all types of leukemia cause the leukemia cells to circulate in the blood.
If this disease is left untreated, a person with leukemia becomes increasingly susceptible to fatigue, excessive bleeding and infections until, finally, the body becomes virtually defenseless, making every minor injury or infection very serious. Leukemia may be fatal.
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow.
Cancers (including ALL) can be caused by mutations (changes) that turn on oncogenes or turn off tumor suppressor genes. These types of changes can stop bone marrow cells from maturing the way they normally would, or help the cells grow out of control.
Because many types of leukemia show no obvious symptoms early in the disease, leukemia may be diagnosed incidentally during a physical exam or as a result of routine blood testing.
Generally, if the red blood cells and platelets are normal, a bone marrow aspiration and biopsy are not needed to make a diagnosis of CLL. However, these tests may be recommended before treatment begins.
They occur in unusual places – In cases of leukaemia, quite often bruises will appear in places that you wouldn't normally expect, especially; the back, legs, and hands.
Understanding your blood count test results
If you have leukemia, your blood cells count will likely show higher than usual levels of white blood cells, which include leukemic cells. You may also have lower than usual red blood cell and platelet cell counts. If all three types are low, this is known as pancytopenia.
What is Leukemia (Blood Cancer)? 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.
Leukemia cutis appears as red or purplish red, and it occasionally looks dark red or brown. It affects the outer skin layer, the inner skin layer, and the layer of tissue beneath the skin. The rash can involve flushed skin, plaques, and scaly lesions. It most commonly appears on the trunk, arms, and legs.
Leukemia is commonly misdiagnosed as the following conditions: Influenza. Fever. Pathological fracture.
People often feel ill quite quickly. Most symptoms of acute leukaemia are caused by leukaemia cells filling the bone marrow. This means healthy blood cells do not move into the blood as normal.
Some symptoms, like night sweats, fever, fatigue and achiness, resemble flu-like symptoms. Unlike symptoms of the flu, which generally subside as you 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.
While the exact cause of leukemia—or any cancer, for that matter—is unknown, there are several risk factors that have been identified, such as radiation exposure, previous cancer treatment and being over the age of 65.
In CLL, the leukemia cells grow out of control and crowd out normal blood cells. These cells often build up slowly over time. Many people don't have any symptoms for at least a few years. In time, the cells can spread to other parts of the body, including the lymph nodes, liver, and spleen.