Leukemia is a type of cancer of the bone marrow and cancer of the blood.
Leukemia cancer occurs when your body produces abnormal and immature white blood cells which does not function properly.
And because these cells multiply uncontrollably, they also crowd out the healthy blood cells and also impair your body's ability to fight off infection.
Leukemia cancer is also broadly classified by how quickly the Leukemia cancer progresses as well as the type of white blood cell that is affected.
Acute fast growing and aggressive leukemia cancer involves immature blood cells or blasts that multiply rapidly.
Chronic or slower growing Leukemia cancer involves more mature and partially developed cells, which multiply over a longer period of time.
Lymphocytic or Lymphoblastic Leukemia affects lymphoid cells, which form lymphoid or lymphatic tissue.
And myelogenous leukemia affects myeloid cells, which normally develop into red blood cells, white blood cells and even platelets.
The 4 main types of Leukemia cancer includes.
Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, which occurs most commonly in children, but can also occur in adults.
Acute myeloid leukemia cancer occurs in both children and adults, and is one of the more common types of acute leukemia cancer in adults.
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia cancer is the most common chronic adult leukemia cancers.
And chronic myeloid leukemia cancer occurs mainly in adults.
And unlike other forms of cancers, leukemia cancers rarely form solid tumors, and instead the abnormal cells circulate in the bloodstream and allow them to affect various organs throughout the body.
Leukemia has an overall 5 year relative survival rate of 67 percent in the United States.
However the survival rates of Leukemia also vary greatly by the specific subtype of the Leukemia as well as the age of the patient and how early the treatment begins.
Leukemia is often treated through chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, stem cell transplant or bone marrow transplant and radiation therapy.
The primary treatment for most forms of Leukemia cancers is chemotherapy, using a combination of drugs to kill the fast growing chemotherapy cells through the body.
Targeted therapy for leukemia involves medications that are designed to target the specific proteins or gene mutations that are unique to the leukemia cells, which spares the healthy cells.
Immunotherapy for leukemia are treatments that stimulate or enhance your own immune system to recognize and attack the cancer cells, which includes options like CAR T-cell therapy.
And stem cell therapy or bone marrow transplant for leukemia treatment involves replacing the diseased bone marrow with healthy stem cells to allow for higher doses of chemotherapy to be used.
And radiation therapy for leukemia treatment involves use of high energy rays that destroy the leukemia cells or shrink the swollen lymph nodes and the spleen.
Or for certain slow growing leukemia cancer cases, doctors might delay the treatment for leukemia or find specialized care centers.