What kind of leukemia is the worst

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Adult ALL Treatment. Adult AML Treatment. Hairy Cell Leukemia Treatment. Childhood ALL Treatment. Childhood AML Treatment. Key Points Adult acute myeloid leukemia AML is a type of cancer in which the bone marrow makes a large number of abnormal blood cells. Leukemia may affect red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.

There are different subtypes of AML. Smoking, previous chemotherapy treatment, and exposure to radiation may affect the risk of AML. Signs and symptoms of AML include fever, feeling tired, and easy bruising or bleeding. Tests that examine the blood and bone marrow are used to diagnose AML. Certain factors affect prognosis chance of recovery and treatment options. Red blood cells that carry oxygen and other substances to all tissues of the body.

White blood cells that fight infection and disease. Platelets that form blood clots to stop bleeding. Being male. Older age. Having had treatment with chemotherapy or radiation therapy in the past. Being exposed to radiation in the environment such as nuclear radiation or to the chemical benzene. Having a personal history of a blood disorder such as myelodysplastic syndrome.

Having certain syndromes or inherited disorders. Paleness or loss of normal skin color. Physical exam and health history : An exam of the body to check general signs of health, including checking for signs of disease, such as lumps or anything else that seems unusual.

Complete blood count CBC : A procedure in which a sample of blood is drawn and checked for the following: The number of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. The amount of hemoglobin the protein that carries oxygen in the red blood cells. The portion of the sample made up of red blood cells. The age of the patient. Older age at diagnosis may be linked to lower remission rates and more complications. Whether the leukemia has spread to the central nervous system. Whether the patient has a systemic infection at the time of diagnosis.

Whether the patient has a very high white blood cell count at the time of diagnosis. The subtype of AML. Whether the patient received chemotherapy or radiation therapy in the past to treat a different cancer. Whether there is a history of a blood disorder such as myelodysplastic syndrome. Whether the cancer has been treated before or recurred come back.

Key Points Once acute myeloid leukemia AML has been diagnosed, tests are done to find out if the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. There is no standard staging system for AML.

Lumbar puncture : A procedure used to collect a sample of cerebrospinal fluid CSF from the spinal column. This is done by placing a needle between two bones in the spine and into the CSF around the spinal cord and removing a sample of the fluid. The sample of CSF is checked under a microscope for signs that leukemia cells have spread to the brain and spinal cord. This procedure is also called an LP or spinal tap. Enlarge Lumbar puncture. A patient lies in a curled position on a table.

After a small area on the lower back is numbed, a spinal needle a long, thin needle is inserted into the lower part of the spinal column to remove cerebrospinal fluid CSF, shown in blue. The fluid may be sent to a laboratory for testing. CT scan CAT scan : A procedure that makes a series of detailed pictures of the abdomen , taken from different angles. The pictures are made by a computer linked to an x-ray machine. A dye may be injected into a vein or swallowed to help the organs or tissues show up more clearly.

This procedure is also called computed tomography, computerized tomography, or computerized axial tomography. The complete blood count is abnormal. There are signs or symptoms of leukemia. The complete blood count is normal. There are no signs or symptoms of leukemia in the brain and spinal cord or elsewhere in the body. Key Points There are different types of treatment for patients with acute myeloid leukemia. The treatment of AML usually has two phases. Patients receive supportive care for side effects of treatment.

Five types of treatment are used: Chemotherapy Radiation therapy Chemotherapy with stem cell transplant Targeted therapy Other drug therapy New types of treatment are being tested in clinical trials. Treatment for acute myeloid leukemia may cause side effects. Patients can enter clinical trials before, during, or after starting their cancer treatment. Follow-up tests may be needed. Remission induction therapy : This is the first phase of treatment. The goal is to kill the leukemia cells in the blood and bone marrow.

This puts the leukemia into remission. Postremission therapy : This is the second phase of treatment. It begins after the leukemia is in remission. The goal of postremission therapy is to kill any remaining leukemia cells that may not be active but could begin to regrow and cause a relapse. This phase is also called remission continuation therapy.

Red blood cell and platelet transfusions. Antibiotics and antifungals for treatment of infections. Monoclonal antibodies : Monoclonal antibodies are immune system proteins made in the laboratory to treat many diseases, including cancer. As a cancer treatment, these antibodies can attach to a specific target on cancer cells or other cells that may help cancer cells grow.

The antibodies are able to then kill the cancer cells, block their growth, or keep them from spreading. Monoclonal antibodies are given by infusion. They may be used alone or to carry drugs, toxins , or radioactive material directly to cancer cells.

Gemtuzumab ozogamicin is a type of antibody-drug conjugate used to treat patients with newly diagnosed or relapsed AML. It contains a monoclonal antibody that binds to CD33, which is found on some leukemia cells, and also contains a toxic substance, which may help kill cancer cells.

Midostaurin , a protein kinase inhibitor used with certain types of chemotherapy to treat newly diagnosed patients with AML that has a mutation in the FLT3 gene. Gilteritinib , a tyrosine kinase inhibitor that may be used to treat patients with AML that has come back or did not get better with other treatment and has a mutation in the FLT3 gene.

The lymphatic system is part of the body's immune system, which protects against infection and disease. The lymphatic system includes the spleen, thymus, lymph nodes and lymph channels, as well as the tonsils and adenoids. Scientists don't understand the exact causes of leukemia. It seems to develop from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. In general, leukemia is thought to occur when some blood cells acquire changes mutations in their genetic material or DNA. A cell's DNA contains the instructions that tell a cell what to do.

Normally, the DNA tells the cell to grow at a set rate and to die at a set time. In leukemia, the mutations tell the blood cells to continue growing and dividing.

When this happens, blood cell production becomes out of control. Over time, these abnormal cells can crowd out healthy blood cells in the bone marrow, leading to fewer healthy white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets, causing the signs and symptoms of leukemia. However, most people with known risk factors don't get leukemia. And many people with leukemia have none of these risk factors.

Leukemia care at Mayo Clinic. It usually affects older adults. One form of CLL progresses slowly. Symptoms may not appear until years after onset. Another form of CLL grows very quickly. CLL begins in the B lymphocytes. As the abnormal cells proliferate, they crowd out the normal cells.

This type of leukemia is rare. Only 10 percent of leukemias are CML. CML occurs when a genetic change turns the myeloid cells into immature cancer cells. These cells then grow slowly and overwhelm the healthy cells in the bone marrow and blood. A rare type called hairy cell leukemia HCL — because of how it looks under a microscope — affects fewer than 6, people each year. Prognosis — or chance of recovering from leukemia — depends on many factors. Leukemia subtypes fall along a continuum for projected outcomes, but individual cases can deviate from these predictions.

Chromosome abnormalities and your response to treatment make a difference, as does age. People under 50 usually fare better. Links to lower survival rates include a history of radiation exposure or previous chemotherapy for a different type of cancer. Doctors often discover that a person has chronic leukemia through routine blood testing. They may also rely on their experience and current knowledge of the disease.

If your doctor suspects you may have leukemia, he or she will order specific diagnostic tests such as a:. For general information or questions , call For appointments , contact your preferred doctor or location directly. Skip to Content. Learn more. Within each type of leukemia, there can be several sub-types depending upon the cancer cells involved, how mature they are, and how different they are from normal cells.

Treatment options vary according to the type of leukemia and other factors, such as age and general health. The main treatment options include chemotherapy, stem cell transplant, or targeted therapy using drugs designed to only attach to specific antibodies or proteins on cancer cells.

In special circumstances, other treatments may be used, such as surgery, radiation therapy, leukapheresis removing white blood cells from the blood , or treatment with monoclonal antibodies. Advances in understanding the genetics of leukemia and how they influence the progress of the disease and response to treatment is opening new doors in individualizing treatment.

The lymphatic system is part of the circulatory system and drains a clear fluid called lymph from the tissues into the blood. Treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma depends upon the stage of the disease and may include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy treatment with drugs to stimulate the immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells , or high-dose chemotherapy followed by stem cell transplant.

For non-Hodgkin lymphoma the treatment options are similar chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation and stem cell transplant but may also include targeted therapies new drugs that attached only to cancer cells or, in rare cases, surgery to remove a mass. Myeloma also referred to as multiple myeloma is a cancer of the plasma cells.

Plasma cells are found in the bone marrow and produce antibodies immunoglobulins that protect you against disease. Myeloma is defined by the type of immunoglobulin that reproduces uncontrollably e. During the past several decades, advances have been made in the diagnosis, staging and treatment of myeloma. Approved treatments for myeloma include a tailored combination of:.

New developments in understanding the genetics of myeloma are also opening opportunities to tailor treatment in order to optimize the impact and minimize side effects. Myelodysplastic syndromes MDS are a group of diseases that are often referred to a bone marrow failure disorders. In MDS, immature blood cells referred to as blasts are abnormal and build up in the bone marrow and the blood.

Because of the proliferation of abnormal, immature cells, there are fewer healthy, functioning red and white blood cells and platelets.