Leukemia
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Descriptions of Leukemias
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| Leukemia Treatment at the SCCA | ||||||||||
| Leukemia | ||||||||||
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Background of Leukemia
Descriptions of LeukemiasLeukemia describes a group of cancers of the blood that are categorized by how quickly the disease develops and worsens, and by the type of blood cell affected.
Fast-growing leukemias are called acute and slow-growing leukemias are called chronic. In acute leukemia, abnormal blood cells, called blasts, remain immature and cannot carry out their normal functions. The number of blasts rapidly increases, and the disease quickly worsens.
In chronic leukemia, some blast cells are present, but in general, these cells are more mature and can carry out some of their normal functions. Also, the number of blasts increases more slowly than in acute leukemia. As a result, chronic leukemia more gradually gets worse.
Leukemia can arise in either of the two main types of white blood cells — lymphoid cells or myeloid cells. When leukemia affects lymphoid cells, it is called lymphocytic leukemia. When myeloid cells are affected, the disease is called myeloid or myelogenous leukemia.
The four most common types of leukemia include:
- Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common type of leukemia in young children. This disease also affects adults, especially those ages 65 and older.
- Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) most often affects adults over the age of 55. It sometimes occurs in younger adults, but it almost never affects children.
- Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) occurs in both adults and children. This type of leukemia is sometimes called acute nonlymphocytic leukemia (ANLL).
- Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) occurs mainly in adults. A very small number of children also develop this disease.
For many blood cancers, a bone-marrow or stem-cell transplant, pioneered and perfected at the Hutchinson Center, is the most effective treatment. Center research is also aimed at developing other treatments, including therapies that harness the innate cancer-fighting power of the immune system and highly targeted drugs that selectively kill cancer cells, as alternative therapies to transplantation.
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