Leukemia - Cause
Experts do not yet know what causes leukemia.
A risk factor is anything that raises your chance of getting a disease. Risk factors for some types of leukemia include:
General Information About Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a type of cancer in which the bone marrow makes too many immature lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (also called acute lymphocytic leukemia or ALL) 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 cancer in children. Normally, the bone marrow makes blood stem cells (immature cells) that develop into mature blood...
Read the General Information About Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia article > >
- Smoking and tobacco use.
- Being exposed to large amounts of radiation.
- Being exposed to certain chemicals in the workplace.
- Past chemotherapy or radiation for another cancer. (This is rare, and not all chemotherapies raise your leukemia risk.)
Most people who get leukemia do not have any risk factors.
Most types of leukemia do not seem to run in families. But in some cases chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) does. There are also certain genetic conditions, like Down syndrome, that can make acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) more likely.
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