Acute Myeloid
Leukemia
Leukemia is cancer of the white blood cells. White blood cells help your
body fight infection. Your blood cells form in your bone marrow. In leukemia,
however, the bone marrow produces abnormal white blood cells. These cells crowd
out the healthy blood cells, making it hard for blood to do its work. In acute
myeloid leukemia (AML), there are too many of a specific type of white blood
cell called a myeloblast.
AML is the most common type of acute leukemia in adults. This type of
cancer usually gets worse quickly if it is not treated. Possible risk factors
include smoking, previous chemotherapy treatment, and exposure to radiation.
Symptoms of AML include:
- · Fever
- · Shortness of breath
- · Easy bruising or bleeding
- · Bleeding under the skin
- · Weakness or feeling tired
- · Weight loss or loss of appetite
Tests that examine the blood and bone marrow diagnose AML. Treatments
include chemotherapy, other drugs, radiation therapy, stem cell transplants,
and targeted immune therapy. Once the leukemia is in remission, you need additional
treatment to make sure that it does not come back.
