leukemia
Meaning of leukemia: A cancer with no lump to find, because the affected cells travel in the bloodstream instead of forming a mass.
Definition of leukemia
Leukemia is a cancer of the blood-forming tissue, chiefly the bone marrow. Abnormal white blood cells multiply there without maturing properly and take over the space needed for normal blood production, so healthy red cells, white cells and platelets fall in number. The abnormal cells commonly spill into the bloodstream, though the white cell count can be high, normal or low.
How leukemia is built
- leuk/o Combining form · Greek white
- -emia Suffix · Greek condition of the blood
A medical term is read from its ending backwards: the suffix first, then the prefix, then the root. See all 223 word parts.
How is leukemia classified?
| Lymphoid line | Myeloid line | |
|---|---|---|
| Acute | Acute lymphoblastic leukemia | Acute myeloid leukemia |
| Chronic | Chronic lymphocytic leukemia | Chronic myeloid leukemia |
Two questions produce four main diseases. The first is how quickly it develops. An acute leukemia is made of very immature cells that cannot function at all, so it advances over weeks and is treated urgently. A chronic leukemia is made of cells that mature further and work at least partly, so it can build over years and may be found on a blood test taken for another reason. The second question is which family of blood cell the disease came from: the lymphoid line that produces lymphocytes, or the myeloid line that produces the other white cells, red cells and platelets. Several less common forms sit outside this grid.
Why do the symptoms appear?
Almost everything a person notices follows from what the marrow can no longer make. Too few red cells produce tiredness, breathlessness and pale or sallow skin. Too few platelets produce easy bruising, nosebleeds, bleeding gums and small red or purple spots in the skin. Too few working white cells produce infections that recur or fail to clear. The marrow itself can ache, and lymph nodes, liver or spleen may enlarge as abnormal cells collect there. None of these signs is specific to leukemia on its own, and each has far more common explanations.
How is it identified?
A blood count usually raises the question first, by showing counts that are unexpectedly low or high or cells of abnormal appearance. Confirmation comes from the marrow, sampled from the back of the hip bone, and from tests on those cells for surface markers and genetic changes. That detail is what separates acute lymphoblastic leukemia from other acute forms, and it also identifies features that define specific diseases, as the Philadelphia chromosome does in chronic myeloid leukemia.
Used in a sentence
A bone marrow biopsy was performed to confirm the diagnosis of leukemia suggested by the abnormal blood count.
Good to know
Acute leukemia involves immature cells and progresses over weeks, while chronic leukemia involves more mature cells and can develop over years, and the white cell count in leukemia may be raised, normal or reduced rather than always high.
Word origin
Where “leukemia” comes from
Formed from leuko-, from Greek leukos, meaning white, and -emia, from Greek haima, meaning blood.