Causes of leukaemia The cause of acute leukaemia is unknown, but factors that put some people at higher risk are: exposure to intense radiation. exposure to certain chemicals, such as benzene. viruses like the Human T-Cell leukaemia virus.
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.
Certain genetic disorders, such as Down syndrome, are associated with an increased risk of leukemia. Exposure to certain chemicals. Exposure to certain chemicals, such as benzene — which is found in gasoline and is used by the chemical industry — is linked to an increased risk of some kinds of leukemia. Smoking.
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 starts when the DNA of a single cell in your bone marrow changes (mutates). DNA is the “instruction code” that tells a cell when to grow, how to develop and when to die. Because of the mutation, or coding error, leukemia cells keep multiplying.
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.
Some studies have found that stress-related factors are associated with more rapid progression of several types of cancer, including blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma.
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.
Certain inherited conditions can increase the risk of developing leukemia, but most childhood leukemias do not seem to be caused by inherited mutations. Usually, DNA mutations related to leukemia develop after conception rather than having been inherited.
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.
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.
There are also a handful of general symptoms of leukemia that are less common. “Less common symptoms of leukemia include vomiting, aches in the arms, legs, or hips, pale skin, swollen gums or lymph nodes, and an enlarged spleen or liver,” Dr. Feiner said.
Many studies suggest that short sleep duration increases the risk of cancer whereas some find associations between certain cancers and long sleep duration. Other studies find no definite link at all between how long we sleep for and our risk of cancer.
Human T-cell leukemia virus type, also called human T-lymphotrophic virus (HTLV-1) is linked to adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma.
Leukemia Prevention
Nonetheless, studies indicate some types of leukemia may be prevented by avoiding high doses of radiation, exposure to the chemical benzene, smoking and other tobacco use, or certain types of chemotherapy used to treat other types of cancer.
Bone marrow test.
The bone marrow is removed using a long, thin needle. The sample is sent to a laboratory to look for leukemia cells. Specialized tests of your leukemia cells may reveal certain characteristics that are used to determine your treatment options.
People exposed to high doses of radiation (from the explosion of an atomic bomb, working in an atomic weapons plant, or a nuclear reactor accident) have a heightened risk of developing leukemia. Long-term exposure to high levels of solvents such as benzene — in the workplace, for example — is a known risk factor.
Increasingly, researchers are finding that leukemia may run in a family due to inherited gene mutations. AML occurs more often in people with the following inherited disorders: Down syndrome. Ataxia telangiectasia.
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is seldom cured, but it can often be treated and controlled for a long time. During this time, some people with CLL may develop a new, unrelated cancer later. This is called a second cancer. Unfortunately, being treated for cancer doesn't mean you can't get another cancer.
Leukemia can produce a variety of symptoms, although most are not often apparent in the earliest stages of the malignancy. The most common symptoms of leukemia—fatigue, pale skin, weight loss and night sweats—are often attributed to other less serious conditions, such as the flu.
6. Is leukemia curable if caught early? If caught early, leukemia can be cured by undergoing several cancer treatments.
Family history: Many wonder, Is leukemia hereditary? Most leukemias have no familial link. However, if the patient is a first-degree relative of a CLL patient, or if he or she has an identical twin who has or had AML or ALL, the patient may be at an increased risk for developing the disease.
Leukemia typically affects WBCs, causing the bone marrow to produce abnormal WBCs that cannot fight infections as they should. This impairs the immune system, putting the body at increased risk of developing severe infections and illnesses.
Health experts are still sorting out whether stress actually causes cancer. Yet there's little doubt that it promotes the growth and spread of some forms of the disease.
Advances in the treatment of blood cancers have increased the number of people living with their disease. Survival brings its own challenges and opportunities. Many experience times where their disease is under control, and they are free to 'get on' with their lives.