Receive a diagnosis of leukaemia in 2019. They also predict that leukaemia will cause 22,840 deaths in the same year. Acute leukaemia develops quickly and worsens rapidly, but chronic leukaemia gets worse over time. There are several different types of leukaemia, and the best course of treatment and a person’s chance of survival depends on which type they have. In this article, we provide an overview of leukaemia, causes, treatment, type, and symptoms.Treament for leukaemia depends on the type a person has.Leukemia develops when the DNA of developing blood cells, mainly white cells, incurs damage. This causes the blood cells to grow and divide uncontrollably. Healthy blood cells die, and new cells replace them. These develop in the bone marrow. The abnormal blood cells do not die at a natural point in their life cycle. Instead, they build up and occupy more space. As the bone marrow produces more cancer cells, they begin to overcrowd the blood, preventing the healthy white blood cells from growing and functioning normally.
Eventually, the cancerous cells outnumber healthy cells in the blood. There is a range of risk factors for leukaemia. Some of these risk factors have more significant links to leukaemia than others: Artificial ionizing radiation: This could include having received radiation therapy for a previous cancer, although this is a more significant risk factor for some types than others.Certain viruses: The human T-lymph tropic virus (HTLV-1) has links to leukemia.Chemotherapy: People who received chemotherapy treatment for a previous cancer have a higher chance of developing leukaemia later in life. Exposure to benzene: This is a solvent that manufacturers use in some cleaning chemicals and hair dyes. Some genetic conditions: Children with Down syndrome have a third copy of chromosome 21. This increases their risk of acute myeloid or acute lymphocytic leukaemia to 2–3%, which is higher than in children without this syndrome. Another genetic condition with links to leukaemia is Li-Fraumeni syndrome. This causes a change to the TP53 gene. Family history: Having siblings with leukaemia can lead to a low but significant risk of leukaemia. If a person has an identical twin with leukaemia, they have a 1 in 5 chance of having the cancer themselves. Inherited problems with the immune system: Certain inherited immune conditions increase the risk of both severe infections and leukaemia. This ataxia-telangiectasia Bloom syndromeSchwachmanDiamondsyndrome.Wiskott-Aldrich syndromImmune suppression: Childhood leukaemia may develop due to the deliberate suppression of the immune system. This might occur following an organ transplant as a child takes medications to prevent their body from rejecting the organ. Several risk factors need further studies to confirm their link to leukaemia, such as: During its lifespan, a white blood cell goes through several stages. In acute leukaemia, developing cells multiply quickly and collect in the marrow and blood. They exit the bone marrow too early and are not functional. Chronic leukaemia progresses more slowly. It allows for the production of more mature, useful cells. Acute leukaemia overcrowds the healthy blood cells more quickly than chronic leukemia.Lymphocytic and myelogenous leukaemia’s Doctors classify leukaemia according to the type of blood cell they affect. Lymphocytic leukaemia occurs if cancerous changes affect the type of bone marrow that makes lymphocytes. A lymphocyte is a white blood cell that plays a role in the immune system Myelogenous leukaemia happens when the changes affect bone marrow cells that produce blood cells, rather than the blood cells themselves Acute lymphocytic leukaemia Children under 5 years old are at the highest risk of developing acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). However, It can also affect adults, typically over the age of 50 years. Out of every five deaths from ALL, four occur in adults.