Leukemia
Cancer of the blood cells. Strictly speaking, leukemia should refer only to cancer of the white blood cells (leukocytes), but in practice it can apply to malignancy of any cellular element in the blood or bone marrow, as in red cell leukemia (erythroleukemia). Treatment may involve chemo’therapy, radiation therapy, biological therapy, and/or bone marrow transplantation. Also spelled leucemia. See also accelerated phase of leukemia; leukemia, blastic phase of; leukemia, chronic phase of; leukemia, hairy cell; leukemia, lymphocytic; leukemia, myeloid; leukemia, refractory; myelodysplastic syndrome.
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- Leukemia, acute
Cancer of the blood cells (leukemia) that progresses rapidly, as opposed to chronic leukemia which progresses slowly. The two major types of acute leukemia are acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and acute myelocytic leukemia (AML).
- Leukemia, accelerated phase of
Chronic myelogenous leukemia that is progressing. In this phase, the number of immature, abnormal white blood cells in the bone marrow and blood is higher than in the chronic phase, but not as high as in the blast phase.
- Leukemia, acute lymphoblastic
A form of leukemia that has a sudden onset and is characterized by the presence in the blood and bone marrow of large numbers of unusually immature white blood cells that are precursors of lymphocytes (lymphoblasts). Lymphoblasts are rarely seen in the blood under normal circumstances. Abbreviated ALL. Treatment for ALL may include chemotherapy, radiation, […]
- Leukemia, acute lymphocytic
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
- Leukemia, acute myelogenous
Abbreviated AML. Also called acute myeloid leukemia or acute nonlymphocytic leukemia (ANLL). A quickly progressive malignant disease in which there are too many immature blood-forming cells in the blood and bone marrow, the cells being specifically those destined to give rise to the granulocytes or monocytes, both types of white blood cells that fight infections. […]