Leukemia is a type of cancer that affects white blood cells. Although leukemia can develop in children, there are several types of the condition that doctors most often diagnose in adults.
The types of leukemia that can occur in adults include:
Leukemia can cause symptoms such as fatigue, weight loss, frequent infections, anemia, and bleeding or bruising easily.
In this article, we discuss in detail leukemia in adults, including its symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment.
Leukemia is a type of cancer that affects blood-forming cells. Usually, it affects white blood cells.
All blood cells in the human body begin their life cycle as stem cells, which are present in a persons bone marrow. As the blood cells mature, they go through different stages of development.
Leukemia occurs when one type of immature blood cell mutates and begins growing uncontrollably. The overgrowth of one type of blood cell crowds out the others, causing a range of symptoms.
Leukemia can develop at any age. Some types are more common in adults, while others develop more frequently in children and adolescents.
Doctors categorize leukemias based on two broad characteristics: how fast they grow and the type of blood-forming cell they affect.
Immature blood cells can be myeloid or lymphoid. Myeloid cells go on to become red blood cells, platelets, or specific types of white blood cell. Lymphoid cells have the potential to become other types of white blood cell.
Leukemia that affects myeloid cells is known as myeloid or myelogenous leukemia, while leukemia that affects lymphoid cells is known as lymphoid, lymphocytic, or lymphoblastic.
The types of leukemia most common in adults include:
CLL is the most common type of chronic leukemia in adults, and it rarely develops in children. It starts in lymphoid cells that go on to become lymphocytes, which are a type of white blood cell.
In this chronic, slow-growing form of leukemia, the cancerous cells typically build up gradually, with many people experiencing no symptoms for a few years. This can mean they do not require treatment.
Over time, the cancerous cells spread to other parts of the body. In some cases, CLL can become a more aggressive cancer that is challenging for doctors to treat.
AML is a fast-growing type of leukemia that involves myeloid cells. It usually affects cells that will eventually become white blood cells, but it can also affect immature red blood cells or platelets.
AML is the most common acute leukemia in adults. It accounts for half of leukemia diagnoses for people in their 20s.
While AML originates in the bone marrow, it can quickly spread to other parts of the body, such as the liver, lymph nodes, spleen, spinal cord, brain, or testicles.
Similarly to AML, CML affects myeloid cells. However, it grows slowly.
It can develop in anyone, but it mainly occurs in adults. The average age of diagnosis is 64 years.
ALL is most common in children, accounting for 80% of all cases. However, 20% of leukemia cases in adults fall into this category.
ALL is an aggressive, fast-growing type of cancer that affects lymphoid white blood cells.
Symptoms of leukemia in adults can vary depending on the type of leukemia a person has. People with chronic forms may not have many symptoms for some time.
Those who do may experience one or more of the following:
Some of the factors that can raise the risk of leukemia in adults include:
The incidence of leukemia is higher among males than females, and the likelihood of developing leukemia increases with age.
To diagnose leukemia in adults, doctors will ask the person about their symptoms and may perform a physical examination to look for symptoms such as bruising.
They will then recommend diagnostic tests, such as:
A doctor can diagnose leukemia if they find leukemic cells in the bone marrow samples.
To determine the type and stage of the cancer, they need to identify whether the cells are myeloid or lymphoid and what percentage of the bone marrow these cells make up.
Treatment for leukemia depends on the type a person has. Treatment options may include:
ALL requires immediate treatment in order to stop the leukemia from spreading. This may involve intensive chemotherapy, targeted drug treatment, and a stem cell transplant.
For most forms of AML, the main treatment is chemotherapy, sometimes alongside a targeted therapy drug. Surgery and radiation therapy are treatment options only for specific circumstances.
The primary form of treatment for CML is targeted therapy drugs. This includes tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), which have been a breakthrough in CML treatment. TKIs reduce the progression of the disease and can control CML long term, causing fewer side effects than chemotherapy.
People with CLL may not require treatment, or they may not need it for a long time. Some people survive for just as long as the general population. There are drugs that reduce the impact the condition has and control its symptoms. However, there is no cure aside from stem cell transplantation.
Individuals should seek guidance from a healthcare professional if they experience any of the symptoms that could indicate leukemia.
Particularly concerning symptoms include:
Leukemia is a form of cancer that affects blood-forming cells present in the bone marrow. It can affect either myeloid or lymphoid cells, and it can grow quickly or slowly. Doctors use these characteristics to categorize the type of leukemia a person has.
In adults, the most common type of leukemia is CLL. Acute or fast-growing types are also possible.
Leukemia can spread from the bone marrow into the bloodstream, allowing it to move to other parts of the body.
Treatment options vary, but they may include chemotherapy, targeted drugs, immunotherapy, or stem cell transplants.
Read the rest here:
Leukemia in adults: Common types, symptoms, and treatment - Medical News Today
- Biology of stem cells: an overview - PMC - National Center for ... - March 26th, 2024
- Iron Limitation Preserves Youthfulness of Blood Stem Cells - Mirage News - March 13th, 2024
- Mini organs grown from stem cells of unborn babies for the first time in breakthrough - The Mirror - March 9th, 2024
- The Effect of Short-Term NAD3 Supplementation on Circulating Adult Stem Cells in Healthy Individuals Aged 40-70 ... - Cureus - March 7th, 2024
- University of Liverpool Spin-Out Emerges, Pioneering Novel Adult Stem Cell-Based Therapies - India Education Diary - March 7th, 2024
- Scientists have used cells from fluid drawn during pregnancy to grow mini lungs and other organs - Yahoo News Canada - March 6th, 2024
- Japan approves new stem cell-based Alzheimer's therapy By Proactive Investors - Investing.com Australia - January 20th, 2024
- Cyberstalking pits Harvard professor against PubPeer Retraction ... - Retraction Watch - December 5th, 2023
- 10 functional health predictions for 2024, according to a doctor and ... - 1330 WFIN - December 5th, 2023
- See the Brain Like Never Before in This Gorgeous Art - Scientific American - December 5th, 2023
- Geron Announces Publication in The Lancet of Results from the ... - BioSpace - December 5th, 2023
- Stem cell injections could be the key to curing MS - Freethink - December 3rd, 2023
- Jaypirca (pirtobrutinib) Now Approved by U.S. FDA for the ... - Investors | Eli Lilly and Company - December 3rd, 2023
- Comparative Efficacy and Safety of Four JAK Inhibitors for ... - HealthDay - December 3rd, 2023
- City lights up for Francis on Anthony Nolan's birthday - Liverpool Express - December 3rd, 2023
- NOT-AR-23-022: Request for Information on Themes for the NIAMS ... - National Institutes of Health (.gov) - December 3rd, 2023
- December 2023: Intramural Papers of the Month - Environmental Factor Newsletter - December 1st, 2023
- CNA Explains: What is cord blood banking and why do parents do it? - CNA - December 1st, 2023
- Regulation of myogenesis and adipogenesis by the electromagnetic ... - Nature.com - December 1st, 2023
- The effects of vitamin K on bone health - News-Medical.Net - December 1st, 2023
- Dr Hurwitz on Ongoing Investigations of the Use of CAR T-Cell ... - OncLive - December 1st, 2023
- Mitophagy in human health, ageing and disease - Nature.com - December 1st, 2023
- Adult Stem Cells - Stem Cells and the Future of Regenerative Medicine ... - November 29th, 2023
- Navigating The Regulatory Landscape Of Longevity Health Products ... - Mondaq News Alerts - November 29th, 2023
- MS breakthrough could lead to treatments that halt disease's ... - inews - November 29th, 2023
- Reprogramming tissue mechanically to promote wound healing - Phys.org - November 29th, 2023
- Latest Advances in Arthritis Diagnosis and Treatment at American ... - HealthDay - November 29th, 2023
- Sex-associated differences in frequencies and prognostic impact of ... - Nature.com - November 29th, 2023
- Hematologists Dive into the Current Treatment Landscape - OncLive - November 29th, 2023
- Team discovers protein crucial for B cell differentiation and antibodies - Phys.org - November 29th, 2023
- Science Talk - I survived cancer as a child and now I'm working to ... - The Institute of Cancer Research - November 29th, 2023
- First Edition: Nov. 29, 2023 - KFF Health News - November 29th, 2023
- Symptoms: Unilateral Hearing Loss and Tinnitus : The Hearing Journal - LWW Journals - November 29th, 2023
- Mitigation of sepsis-induced acute lung injury by BMSCs | IJN - Dove Medical Press - November 29th, 2023
- A Case of a Constricted Vessel: The Impact of Acute Myeloid ... - Cureus - November 29th, 2023
- Mum brushed off fatigue after having baby but fall sparked deadly diagnosis - The Mirror - November 29th, 2023
- How heritable is the epigenome? - Drug Discovery News - November 29th, 2023
- The Blueprint of Regeneration: Scientists Discover How to Turn Stem Cells Fate - Revyuh - November 27th, 2023
- BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Announces In-Person Meeting with ... - Marketscreener.com - November 27th, 2023
- Stem Cell Therapy Developed in Korea Begins Treatment for ... - PharmiWeb.com - November 25th, 2023
- COVID-19 Pandemic's Adverse Effect on Bone Health in Young ... - HealthDay - November 25th, 2023
- Sickle cell breakthrough - The Indian Express - November 25th, 2023
- Wall thickness analysis method for judging the degree of lower ... - Nature.com - November 25th, 2023
- Century Therapeutics to Present at the Piper Sandler 35th Annual Healthcare Conference - Yahoo Finance - November 23rd, 2023
- Disease Transmission and Diagnosis of Zika Virus - Cureus - November 23rd, 2023
- Gene-editing therapy for sickle cell earns conditional approval in UK - Sickle Cell Disease News - November 23rd, 2023
- Stem Cell Therapy Developed in Korea Begins Treatment for ... - Newswire - November 21st, 2023
- Efficacy of ADSC-CM in Patients with Telogen Effluvium | SCCAA - Dove Medical Press - November 21st, 2023
- BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Announces In-Person Meeting with ... - PR Newswire - November 21st, 2023
- The Impact of CAR T Cell Therapy on Managing R/R LBCL - OncLive - November 21st, 2023
- Mansour bin Zayed witnesses inauguration of ADSCC Bone Marrow Transplant & Cellular Therapy Congress 2023 - ZAWYA - November 21st, 2023
- Listeria: Who is most susceptible? What are the Symptoms? What ... - Food Poison Journal - November 21st, 2023
- Scope Of Issued Patents May Be Limited By Prosecution Estoppel ... - Mondaq News Alerts - November 21st, 2023
- Qrons Announces the Addition of Professor Shiri Navon-Venezia to ... - StreetInsider.com - November 21st, 2023
- Financially strapped Athersys raises $10.4M - cleveland.com - November 19th, 2023
- From the India Today archives (2010) | How stem cells can save your life - India Today - November 19th, 2023
- Inactivation of the tumor suppressor gene Apc synergizes with H ... - Science - November 19th, 2023
- The Origins of Multiple Myeloma and Why it Matters - HealthTree For AML - Acute Myeloid Leukemia - November 19th, 2023
- Treatment Considerations With TROP2-Targeted Therapy - OncLive - November 19th, 2023
- Athersys narrows loss, raises $10.4 million during third quarter to ... - The Business Journals - November 17th, 2023
- Who was Dolly the Sheep and what happened to her? The story of ... - BBC Countryfile Magazine - November 17th, 2023
- UK first to approve CRISPR treatment for diseases: what you need to ... - Nature.com - November 17th, 2023
- 1st sickle cell patient to be given therapy restoring fetal hemoglobin - Sickle Cell Disease News - November 15th, 2023
- Century Therapeutics Reports Third Quarter 2023 Financial Results and Provides Business Updates - Century - Benzinga - November 13th, 2023
- Century Therapeutics Appoints Brent Pfeiffenberger, Pharm.D., MBA, as Chief Executive Officer - Yahoo Finance - November 11th, 2023
- Century Therapeutics and FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics Announce Licenses for the Development and Commercialization of iPSC-Derived Cell Therapies in... - November 11th, 2023
- AAO 2023: Paul Runge and his ROP treatments in the Ukraine - Modern Retina - November 11th, 2023
- The Evolutionary Reasons We Are Drawn To Horror Movies and ... - Slashdot - November 11th, 2023
- Century Therapeutics Reports Third Quarter 2023 Financial Results ... - GlobeNewswire - November 11th, 2023
- Century Therapeutics Reports Third Quarter 2023 Financial Results ... - StreetInsider.com - November 9th, 2023
- NYU Langone Health Performs World's First Whole-Eye & Partial ... - NYU Langone Health - November 9th, 2023
- BrainStorm to Announce Third Quarter 2023 Financial Results and ... - BioSpace - November 9th, 2023
- Can we cut cost and pain of IVF? Start-up CEO tries out own ... - Genetic Literacy Project - November 9th, 2023
- Jasper Therapeutics Reports Third Quarter 2023 Financial Results ... - BioSpace - November 9th, 2023
- Impaired neural stress resistance and loss of REST in bipolar ... - Nature.com - November 9th, 2023
- Functional genomics and systems biology in human neuroscience - Nature.com - November 9th, 2023
- Trial launched to test CAR T-cell therapy in dogs diagnosed with ... - EurekAlert - November 9th, 2023
- The-Gut's-Lasting-Impact-on-Severe-COVID-19-Immune-Response - Infectious Disease Special Edition - November 9th, 2023
- Emerging Cure for Sickle Cell on its Way to FDA Approval, Carries ... - Dallasweekly - November 7th, 2023
- The science works, but will we pay for it? - Irish Medical Times - November 7th, 2023
Recent Comments