What Is Leukemia?
Leukemia is a type of blood and bone marrow cancer that affects the body’s blood-forming tissues, including the bone marrow and lymphatic system. The bone marrow is responsible for producing blood cells: red blood cells (RBCs), thrombocytes, and white blood cells (WBCs). WBCs are also known as lymphocytes or leukocytes, and they are of fundamental importance in the immune system as they determine the specificity of the immune response to infectious microorganisms and other foreign substances.
When the bone marrow rapidly overproduces abnormal WBCs, those WBCs crowd out the RBCs and thrombocytes that your body needs to be healthy and the extra WBCs don’t function properly in fighting infections.
Many types of Leukemia exist. Some forms are more common in children while other forms occur mainly in adults. And studies over the years tend to indicate there is a reciprocal correlation between those having iron deficiency anemia (IDA) are at greater risk of having cancer (like Leukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma), and those with Leukemia are at greater risk of developing certain types of anemia (like IDA).
Causes of Leukemia
While the exact cause of Leukemia – or any cancer, for that matter – is unknown, there are several risk factors that you should be aware of, such as radiation exposure, previous cancer treatment and being over the age of 65.
It also tends to be linked to other blood disorders, such as anemia and iron deficiency anemia, or any other disorders relating to low iron content, low hemoglobin, and/or low hematocrit levels (low red blood cell count) in the blood. The following is a list of common risk factors for Leukemia as well as other blood cancers like Lymphoma.
Common Risk Factors
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Being Male – Men are more likely than women
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Smoking and Tobacco Use
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Increasing Age – The risk increases with age for most types of Leukemia, however, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) occurs most commonly in children 2 to 8 years old
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Anemia – As Leukemia blood cells multiply rapidly, little room is left for normal RBCs to develop and if your RBC count drops too low, anemia can occur
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Hemolytic Anemia / Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA) / Hemolysis – Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia can occur in patients who have Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)
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Aplastic Anemia / Bone Marrow Disease
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Low Hemoglobin / Low Hematocrit Levels (Low Red Blood Cell Count)
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Hemophilia (Low in Clotting Agents)
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Multiple Myeloma – Also called Kahler disease or myelomatosis, survivors of multiple myeloma can get any type of second cancer, but they have an increased risk of developing:
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Heredity / Family History
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Exposure to High-Energy Radiation
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Exposure to Toxic Chemicals – Certain herbicides (weed killers), insecticides, pesticides, or industrial chemicals like Benzene
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Breast Implants – Although it is rare, some women with breast implants may develop a type of Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (ALCL) in their breast(s). The risk of contracting ALCL seems to increase when the breast implants have textured (rough) surfaces as opposed to smooth surfaces.
See also Breast Implant-Associated ALCL (BIA-ALCL) and Breast Cancer.
