Learn the causes of leukemia

Leukemia is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow, where the bone marrow produces blood cells that can develop into leukemia due to a problem in the production of blood cells. blood cancer People over the age of 55, but it is also the most common type of cancer for those under the age of 15. medicalnewstoday.

Acute leukemia develops rapidly, but chronic leukemia gets worse over time. There are several different types of leukemia, and the best course of treatment and a person’s chance of survival depends on the type they are suffering from.

Causes of leukemia

Leukemia develops when the DNA of developing blood cells, especially white cells, is damaged. This causes blood cells to grow and divide uncontrollably, and healthy blood cells die and are replaced by new cells. These cells develop in the bone marrow. The abnormal blood cells do not die at a normal point in their life cycle and instead they accumulate and occupy a larger area.

As the bone marrow produces more cancer cells, they begin to overcrowd in the blood, which prevents healthy white blood cells from growing and functioning normally.Eventually, the number of cancer cells exceeds the number of healthy cells in the blood.

There are a range of risk factors for leukemia, some risk factors having more important links with leukemia than others:

Artificial ionizing radiation: This can include radiation therapy for a previous cancer, although this is a more important risk factor for some types than others.

Specific viruses: Associated with a virus T-lymphotropic Human leukemia.

Chemotherapy: People who received chemotherapy for a previous cancer have a higher chance of developing leukemia later in life.

Exposure to benzene: This is a solvent that manufacturers use in some chemical cleaners and hair dyes.

Some genetic conditions: Children with Down syndrome have a third copy of chromosome 21 and this increases the risk of acute myeloid leukemia or acute lymphocytic leukemia to 2-3%, which is higher than children without this syndrome.

Another genetic condition linked to leukemia is Lee-Fraumeni syndrome. This changes a gene TP53.

Family history: Having siblings with leukemia can lower the risk of developing leukemia but it is significant. If a person has an identical twin with leukemia, they have a 1 in 5 chance of developing the cancer themselves.

Inherited immune system problems: Certain inherited immune diseases increase the risk of severe infections and leukemia. They include Bloom syndrome, Schwachmann Diamond syndrome, and Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome.

Immunosuppression: Leukemia may develop in childhood due to intentional suppression of the immune system. This may happen after an organ transplant when the child takes medications to prevent his body from rejecting the organ.

Many risk factors need more studies to confirm their link to leukemia, such as exposure to electromagnetic fields, exposure to certain chemicals in the workplace, such as gasoline, diesel and pesticides, smoking, use of hair dyes.

Types of leukemia

There are four main categories of leukemia acute, chronic, lymphocytic, pure, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. This is most common in adults over 55, but younger adults can also develop it. About 25% of adults with leukemia have chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).CLLIt is more common in men than in women.