Leukemia

Question 1

Leukemia

Answer 1

A neoplastic disease of malignant hematopoietic stem cells that differentiate and proliferate in classified trajectories
Trajectories are acute or chronic
Slight predominance of males to females
Etiology remains unknown
Some links to environmental toxins (chemical solvents, petroleum products)
Some links to hereditary predispositions

Question 2

Types

Answer 2

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is predominant in children ages 2-15 yrs (higher in children< 5)
Acute granulocytic leukemia (AGL) & Acute myelocytic leukemia (AML) greatest in adults >40yrs
Acute lymphocytic leukemia increases in adults > 60 yrs
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) & Chronic granulocytic leukemia (CGL) > 60 yrs
Most common is CLL in Western countries with a median onset of 70 yrs
CML has median onset of 42 yrs

Question 3

Symptoms

Answer 3

Acute presentation: Bone & joint pain, gingival bleeding & hyperplasia, Signs of infection such as fever, chills, shortness of breath, prolonged bleeding times from simple wounds
Chronic presentation: Fatigue, night sweats, low-grade fevers, very high WBC count, nausea, vomiting, organomegaly, blurred vision, bone pain, occasionally priaprism

Question 4

Labs

Answer 4

CBC, platelet count and peripheral smear
Bone marrow testing
Referral, referral, referral

Question 5

Prognosis

Answer 5

Getting better all the time
Early diagnosis is key to the prognosis
Acute disease is aggressively treated, Chronic disease is managed initially by watchful vigilance