Leukemia

Causes and symptoms of leukemia

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What is leukemia?

(Leukemia, leukemia, "blood cancer") is a clonal malignant (neoplastic) disease of the hematopoietic system. To leukemia is a broad group of diseases with different etiology. Poor quality clones can occur as a from immature hematopoietic cells and maturing and Mature blood cells of the bone marrow.

Causes of leukemia

To people fell ill with leukemia, only one of the hematopoietic cells, mutated in cancer. It quickly divided, giving rise to a clone of tumor cells. Viable, rapidly dividing cancer cells take away a little volume at the normal, and thus formed leukemia.

Cause of leukemia can be ionizing radiation . History knows that the bitter examples. For example, in Japan shortly after the nuclear explosions, the number of patients with acute leukemia has increased two to three times. And those people who were on the course 1.5 kilometers from the epicenter, was ill in 45 times more often than outside this zone.

A common cause of leukemia are carcinogens. They have the attitude of some pharmaceutical substances – phenylbutazone, cytotoxic agents (anticancer), levomycetin separate synthetic elements (pesticides; solvents; products of petroleum refining, which are part of the various varnishes and paints).

Another important factor – heredity. This relates primarily to chronic leukemia. In families where lived cases of acute leukemia, the probability of recurrence of the disease increases in 3-4 times. It is believed that from father to children is not a disease but a predisposition of the cells to the relevant changes.

There is also a hypothesis that there are unusual types of microbes that are embedded in human DNA. According to this theory, these unique microorganisms are able to convert normal cells into cancer cells. The leukemia to some extent due to the race of man and his place of residence .

The symptoms of leukemia

The beginning of the leukemias are asymptomatic. Patients feel cheerful until the global dispersal of tumor cells in the hematopoietic system. Because of the deterioration of the hemopoietic symptoms may occurinfectious diseases. Often hemophilia occurs due to the decrease of platelet count. Patients experience weakness, fatigue, palpitations, and shortness of breath in Association with anemia. The cause of death is usually hemorrhage, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, ulcer-necrotic complications of putrefactive processes.

For acute myeloid and monoblastic of leukemia are characterized by significant increase in body temperature of the patient. The spleen is enlarged. The liver is typically not detectable. Most often, the infiltration of leukemic cells happens in the tissues of spleen, liver, skin brain, skin, testes, lungs and kidneys. In 25 % of situations are found leukemic meningitis with the corresponding symptoms.

Leukemia pneumonia is characterized by the occurrence of dry cough, wheezing in the lungs. In the later stages of the disease, there are numerous lakeside skin – sources of leukemic infiltration. The skin over their surface becomes red or light brown. The liver – with thick edges, enlarged, is not painful upon palpation. Leukemic infiltration of the kidneys may lead to kidney deficiency, sometimes to the lack of urinary output. The result of cytotoxic therapy can significantly increase cases of necrotizing lesions of the mucosa of the intestinal tract. At first arises a small swelling of the abdomen, growling at feeling, loose stools. Subsequently appear severe abdominal pain, signs of irritation of the mucosa. By the newly formed ulcers of the intestinal tract acute pain of a chronic nature.

When lymphoblastic leukemia often there is an increase in the lymphoid nodes and spleen. Lymph nodes are rather compact, typically localized in the supraclavicular area, initially one side, later. Most often, they do not cause pain. From the site of localization of these nodes depends on the symptoms. If lymph nodes are enlarged in the mediastinum, there is a dry cough and shortness of breath. Increase digestive nodes triggers the abdominal pain. Also patients may complain of oppressive pain in the tibia, high temperature.

Often affects the testicles – usually on one side. The egg becomes more dense, increases in size. Erythromelalagia acute leukemia often starts with anemic syndrome.

Leukemia treatment

With long-term leukemia the doctor opted to support the strategy, which mission – to slow down the progression of the disease or prevent complications. Acute leukemia requiresimmediate treatment, which involves taking large doses and extensive variety of pharmaceutical drugs (chemotherapy), radiotherapy is sometimes prescribed means of immune suppression to allow the body to cleanse itself of cancer cells for transplantation of healthy donor cells in the future.