Leukemia - What Happens
Stem cells are made in the bone marrow. Stem cells become:
- White blood cells that help your body fight infection.
- Red blood cells that make sure all your body parts have the oxygen they need.
- Platelets that keep you from bleeding too much.
In most cases of leukemia, there are too many abnormal white blood cells. These leukemia cells crowd out the normal blood cells in your bone marrow and build up in your lymph nodes, liver, and spleen. This makes it hard for your body to fight infections.
Disease Overview Chronic neutrophilic leukemia (CNL) is a rare chronic myeloproliferative disorder of unknown etiology, characterized by sustained peripheral blood neutrophilia (>25 × 109 /L) and hepatosplenomegaly.[1,2] The bone marrow is hypercellular. No significant dysplasia is in any of the cell lineages, and bone marrow fibrosis is uncommon.[1,2] Cytogenetic studies are normal in nearly 90% of the patients. In the remaining patients, clonal karyotypic abnormalities may include +8,...
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When the leukemia cells crowd out your normal cells, your blood cannot do its job. You may bleed or bruise easily, have more infections, and feel very tired. 0
Survival rates are different for each kind of leukemia. A 5-year survival rate is the percentage of people who are still alive 5 years or more after being diagnosed. These numbers do not necessarily show what will happen in your case. The following are estimated 5-year survival rates:1
- For acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), 66% in adults and 89% in children
- For acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), 23%
- For chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), 79%
- For chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), 53%
These numbers come from reports that were done at least 5 years ago, before newer treatments were available. So chances of survival today are likely to be higher than these numbers.
WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise
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