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.
ALL starts in the bone marrow (the soft inner part of certain bones, where new blood cells are made). Most often, the leukemia cells invade the blood fairly quickly.
Stage 0 – A patient has high levels of white blood cells, but no other physical symptoms. Stage 1 – A patient has high levels of white blood cells and enlarged lymph nodes. Stage 2 – A patient has high levels of white blood cells and is anemic. He or she may also have enlarged 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.
Persistent fatigue, weakness. Frequent or severe infections. Losing weight without trying. Swollen lymph nodes, enlarged liver or spleen.
"A patient may be tested for leukemia if he or she has unexplained weight loss, night sweats or fatigue, or if he or she bruises or bleeds easily," Dr. Siddon says. "Sometimes routine blood work shows an unexplained elevated number of white blood cells."
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.
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. Other early warning signs of leukemia include: Fever, chills. Fatigue, weakness.
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.
Age: The risk of most leukemias increase with age. 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.
If caught early, leukemia can be cured by undergoing several cancer treatments.
Bone pain can occur in leukemia patients when the bone marrow expands from the accumulation of abnormal white blood cells and may manifest as a sharp pain or a dull pain, depending on the location. The long bones of the legs and arms are the most common location to experience this pain.
Chronic leukemia often causes only a few symptoms or none at all. Signs and symptoms usually develop gradually. People with a chronic leukemia often complain that they just do not feel well.
During the progression of leukemia, white blood cells (neoplastic leukocytes) found in bone marrow may begin to filter into the layers of the skin, resulting in skin lesions. “It looks like red-brown to purple firm bumps or nodules and represents the leukemia cells depositing in the skin,” Forrestel says.
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.
So while you may be able to see if you have genetic markers for future cancer development, there's currently no home test available that can tell you whether you have leukemia currently. Possible tests available for home use can give you an idea of your overall health and risk factors, but they can't diagnose leukemia.
Chronic leukemia usually gets worse slowly, over months to years, while acute leukemia develops quickly and progresses over days to weeks. The two main types of leukemia can be further organized into groups that are based on the type of white blood cell that is affected — lymphoid or myeloid.
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.
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.
Incidence + Prevalence:
It is expected that 19,403 Australians will be newly diagnosed with blood cancer such as leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma in 2022. This is equivalent to 53 people per day or one person every 27 minutes.
No, being stressed doesn't directly increase the risk of cancer. The best quality studies have followed up many people for several years. They have found no evidence that those who are more stressed are more likely to get cancer.
The 5-year survival rate for people age 20 and older is 40%. The 5-year survival rate for people under age 20 is 89%. Recent advances in treatment have significantly lengthened the lives of people with ALL. However, survival rates depend on several factors, including biologic features of the disease and a person's age.