Cancer Health Center
General Information About Adult Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a type of cancer in which the bone marrow makes abnormal myeloblasts (a type of white blood cell), red blood cells, or platelets.
Adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. This type of cancer usually gets worse quickly if it is not treated. It is the most common type of acute leukemia in adults. AML is also called acute myelogenous leukemia, acute myeloblastic leukemia, acute granulocytic leukemia, and acute nonlymphocytic leukemia.
Normally, the bone marrow makes blood stem cells (immature cells) that develop into mature blood cells over time. A blood stem cell may become a myeloid stem cell or a lymphoid stem cell. The lymphoid stem cell develops into a white blood cell. The myeloid stem cell develops into one of three types of mature blood cells:
- Red blood cells that carry oxygen and other materials to all tissues of the body.
- White blood cells that fight infection and disease.
- Platelets that help prevent bleeding by causing blood clots to form.
Blood cell development. A blood stem cell goes through several steps to become a red blood cell, platelet, or white blood cell.
In AML, the myeloid stem cells usually develop into a type of immature white blood cell called myeloblasts (or myeloidblasts). The myeloblasts in AML are abnormal and do not become healthy white blood cells. Sometimes in AML, too many stem cells develop into abnormal red blood cells or platelets. These abnormal white blood cells, red blood cells, or platelets are also called leukemia cells or blasts. Leukemia cells can build up in the bone marrow and blood so there is less room for healthy white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. When this happens, infection, anemia, or easy bleeding may occur. The leukemia cells can spread outside the blood to other parts of the body, including the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord), skin, and gums.
This summary is about adult AML. See the following PDQ summaries for information about other types of leukemia:
- Childhood Acute Myeloid Leukemia/Other Myeloid Malignancies Treatment
- Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia Treatment
- Adult Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Treatment
- Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Treatment
- Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Treatment
- Hairy Cell Leukemia Treatment
There are different subtypes of AML.
Most AML subtypes are based on how mature (developed) the cancer cells are at the time of diagnosis and how different they are from normal cells.
Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a subtype of AML that occurs when parts of two genes stick together. APL usually occurs in middle-aged adults. Symptoms of APL may include both bleeding and forming blood clots.
Smoking, previous chemotherapy treatment, and exposure to radiation may affect the risk of developing adult AML.
WebMD Public Information from the National Cancer Institute
