Leukemia

What is leukemia?

Leukemia is cancer of the blood cells, usually the white blood cells.

What are the types of leukemia?

There are four main types of leukemia, which can be further divided into subtypes. When classifying the type of leukemia, the first steps are to determine if the cancer is:

Lymphocytic or Myelogenous Leukemia

Cancer can occur in either the lymphoid or myeloid white blood cells.

• Lymphocytic Leukemia

  When the cancer develops in the lymphocytes (lymphoid cells), it is called lymphocytic leukemia.

• Myelogenous Leukemia

  When the cancer develops in the granulocytes or monocytes (myeloid cells), it is called myelogenous leukemia.

Acute or Chronic Leukemia

Leukemia is either acute or chronic.

• Acute Leukemia

  The new or immature cells, called blasts, remain very immature and cannot perform their functions. The blasts increase in number rapidly, and the disease progresses quickly.

• Chronic Leukemia

  There are some blast cells present, but they are more mature and are able to perform some of their functions. The cells grow more slowly, and the number increases less quickly, so the disease progresses gradually.

Based on these findings, the leukemia is then classified into one of the four main types of leukemias: acute myelogenous leukemia (AML); chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML); acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL); or chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).