Are All Leukemias the Same?

Please Bookmark:

Contrary to popular perception, no, they are not. Leukemia is classified by the rate at which it progresses. Leukemia afflicts the cells that form blood, starting in the bone marrow. This cancer is determined by an excess of white blood cells in the body. Any blood-forming cell in the bone marrow can turn into a cancer cell. Once this happens, the leukemia cell does not progress to the usual maturing process. The cells do not die and keep building up, ultimately getting into the bloodstream and then spreading to other parts of the body.There are chronic leukemias and acute leukemias. Acute leukemia is when the cells of the bone marrow do not properly mature, and keep on reproducing, and accumulating. Known as ‘blasts,’ these young cells keep dividing unlike the normal cells. Patients with acute leukemia would not live beyond a few months if they are not properly treated.Again, in certain subtypes of acute leukemia the patient can be cured while for others the outcome is less favorable. Chronic leukemia is when the cells are abnormal and mature, growing slowly, flourishing and reproducing to accumulate and overcome normal cells. They do not fight infection like normal white blood cells do.

Leukemia is also classified according to the type of bone marrow cells that are involved.

Granulocytes or monocytes being involved means the leukemia is myeloid leukemia, which can be chronic or acute. Lymphoblasts or lymphocytes in the blood marrow lead to lymphocytic leukemia, which also can be chronic or acute. So the four main types of leukemia are acute myeloid leukemia, chronic myeloid leukemia, acute lymphocytic leukemia, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Generally, with acute leukemia the cells will develop fast and can overrun the body within a few weeks or months, in contrast to chronic leukemia, which grows slowly and becomes increasingly worse over the years. Children develop acute forms of leukemia and these are treated differently from adult acute leukemia.

It is good to have an idea of the different types of leukemia rather than just clubbing them all together as leukemia. Treatment will differ from one kind to another and from patient to patient—especially from adults to children. Some kinds of leukemia require immediate attention as the risk is higher, while others can go through the normal course of treatment. So be aware of what kinds of leukemia there are and discuss it with your physician.