This PPT covers Leukemia and includes types of leukemia, pathophysiology of leukemia, symptoms and diagnosis

1. Jegan
PREPARED BY: JEGAN. S. NADAR

2. LEUKEMIA
Leukemia is cancer of the blood or bone marrow (which produces blood cells).
A person who has leukemia suffers from an abnormal production of blood cells,
generally leukocytes (white blood cells).
Jegan

3. • The DNA of immature blood cells, mainly white cells, becomes damaged
• This abnormality causes the blood cells to grow and divide rapidly
• Normal blood cells die after a while and are replaced by new cells
• The abnormal blood cells do not die so easily, and accumulate occupying more space.
• As more and more space is occupied by these faulty blood cells there is less and less
space for the normal cells - and the sufferer becomes ill
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4. TYPES OF LEUKEMIA
Chronic and Acute
 Acute, which is a rapidly progressing disease that results in the accumulation of immature, useless
cells in the marrow and blood, or
 Chronic, which progresses more slowly and allows more mature, useful cells to be made
Lymphocytic and Myelogenous
 If the cancerous transformation occurs in the lymphoid stem cell that makes lymphocytes, the
disease is called lymphocytic leukemia.
 If the cancerous change occurs in myeloid stem cells that produce red blood cells, other types of
white cells, and platelets, the disease is called myelogenous leukemia.
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5. TYPES OF LEUKEMIA
 Acute lymphoblastic (lymphocytic) leukemia (ALL)
 Acute myeloid (myelogenous) leukemia (AML)
 Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
 Chronic myeloid (myelogenous) leukemia (CML)
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6. ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC (LYMPHOCYTIC) LEUKEMIA (ALL)
 In these diseases, the original acute leukemia cell goes on to form about a trillion
more lymphocytic leukemia cells.
 These cells are nonfunctional because they do not work like normal cells.
 They also crowd out the normal cells in the marrow.
 This causes a decrease in the number of new normal cells made in the marrow.
 This further results in low white cell counts (infection risk).
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7. CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CLL)
 The leukemia cell that starts this disease makes too many lymphocytes that do not
function.
 These cells replace normal cells in the marrow and lymph nodes.
 They interfere with the work of normal lymphocytes, which weakens the patient’s
immune response.
 The high number of leukemia cells in the marrow may crowd out normal blood-forming
cells and lead to a low red cell count (anemia).
 A very high number of leukemia cells building up in the marrow also can lead to low
white cell (neutrophil) and platelet counts.
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8. ACUTE MYELOID (MYELOGENOUS) LEUKEMIA
(AML)
 This disease is similar to ALL
 The original acute leukemia cell goes on to form about a trillion more MYELOID leukemia
cells.
 These cells are nonfunctional because they do not work like normal cells.
 They also crowd out the normal cells in the marrow.
 This causes a decrease in the number of new normal cells made in the marrow.
 This further results in low red cell counts (anemia), low platelet counts (bleeding
risk) and low neutrophil counts (infection risk).
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9. CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA
(CML)
 The leukemia cell that starts this disease makes blood cells (red cells, white cells and
platelets) that function almost like normal cells.
 The number of red cells is usually less than normal, resulting in anemia. But many white
cells and sometimes many platelets are still made.
 Even though the white cells are nearly normal in how they work, their counts are high
and continue to rise.
 This can cause serious problems if the patient does not get treatment.
 If untreated, the white cell count can rise so high that blood flow slows down and
anemia becomes severe.
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10. SYMPTOMS
Signs and symptoms vary based on the type of leukemia. For acute leukemia, they include:
 Tiredness or no energy
 Shortness of breath during physical activity
 Pale skin
 Mild fever or night sweats
 Slow healing of cuts and excess bleeding
 Pinhead-size red spots under the skin
 Aches in bones or joints (for example, knees, hips or shoulders)
People with CLL or CML may not have any symptoms. Some patients learn they have CLL or CML after
a blood test as part of a regular checkup
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11. DIAGNOSIS
 Complete blood test
 Bone marrow test
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