Leukemia
In 1845, pathologist Rudolf Virchow examined a blood sample under a microscope and saw an abnormal abundance of white cells. He named the condition Leukämie by combining the Greek words leukos for white and haima for blood. This observation marked the first clear medical description of what we now call leukemia. Before this moment in mid-19th century Germany, doctors could not explain why some patients suffered from bleeding, bruising, or persistent fevers without finding a specific cause. The discovery shifted the focus from vague symptoms to cellular abnormalities within the bone marrow.
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) represents the most common form of cancer found in young children. It develops rapidly as immature cells crowd out healthy ones in the bone marrow. Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) follows a slower course where relatively mature but still abnormal white blood cells build up over months or years. A patient with CML might live for many years before requiring immediate intervention unlike those facing acute forms. The distinction between these four main categories dictates whether treatment must begin immediately or if watchful waiting is appropriate.
Studies conducted in 2009 and 2010 revealed a positive correlation between exposure to formaldehyde and the development of leukemia. People living near nuclear reactor accidents face increased risks due to large doses of Strontium-90 radioisotopes. Smoking tobacco creates a small increase in the risk of developing acute myeloid leukemia among adults. Down syndrome carries a significantly higher risk for developing forms of acute leukemia compared to the general population. These factors combine with spontaneous DNA mutations to trigger the disease process in susceptible individuals.
Diagnosis usually begins with repeated complete blood counts followed by a bone marrow examination after symptoms appear. Sometimes early-stage blood tests fail to show that a person has leukemia because cancerous cells remain trapped inside the marrow. Doctors may perform an X-ray, MRI, or ultrasound to check for effects on bones, the brain, kidneys, spleen, or liver. The American Cancer Society estimates that at least one-fifth of people with leukemia have not yet been diagnosed due to vague non-specific symptoms. A lymph node biopsy can be performed to confirm certain types of leukemia in specific situations.
Most forms of leukemia are treated with pharmaceutical medication combined into multi-drug chemotherapy regimens. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia treatment involves induction chemotherapy using prednisone vincristine and anthracycline drugs to bring about bone marrow remission. Chronic myelogenous leukemia patients often receive imatinib therapy which allows more than 90% of people to keep the disease in check for at least five years. Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation remains an option for high-risk cases but carries a mortality rate of approximately 30%. Maintenance treatments with lower drug doses may continue for up to three years to prevent recurrence.
In 2015 leukemia was present in 2.3 million people worldwide and caused 353,500 deaths. Approximately 44,270 new cases were diagnosed in the United States during the year 2008 alone. Rates from 1975 to 2011 increased by 0.7% per year among children in America. White American children are almost twice as likely to develop leukemia than black American children. More men than women have leukemia and die from the disease with around 30 percent more males affected globally.
Around ten years after Virchow's findings pathologist Franz Ernst Christian Neumann found that the bone marrow of a deceased person with leukemia was colored dirty green-yellow. By 1947 Boston pathologist Sidney Farber believed aminopterin could potentially cure leukemia in children though none were actually cured at that time. In 1962 researchers Emil J. Freireich Jr. and Emil Frei III used combination chemotherapy to attempt to cure leukemia successfully for some survivors. Recent advances include chimeric antigen receptor T cells approved by the Food and Drug Administration as of 2018.
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Common questions
Who discovered leukemia and when did this discovery occur?
Pathologist Rudolf Virchow examined a blood sample in 1845 and named the condition Leukämie. This observation marked the first clear medical description of what we now call leukemia.
What are the main types of leukemia and how do they differ?
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia represents the most common form found in young children while chronic myelogenous leukemia follows a slower course. The distinction between these four main categories dictates whether treatment must begin immediately or if watchful waiting is appropriate.
What causes leukemia according to studies from 2009 and 2010?
Studies conducted in 2009 and 2010 revealed a positive correlation between exposure to formaldehyde and the development of leukemia. People living near nuclear reactor accidents face increased risks due to large doses of Strontium-90 radioisotopes and smoking tobacco creates a small increase in risk for acute myeloid leukemia among adults.
How is leukemia diagnosed and why might early tests fail?
Diagnosis usually begins with repeated complete blood counts followed by a bone marrow examination after symptoms appear. Sometimes early-stage blood tests fail to show that a person has leukemia because cancerous cells remain trapped inside the marrow.
What treatments exist for different forms of leukemia today?
Most forms of leukemia are treated with pharmaceutical medication combined into multi-drug chemotherapy regimens. Chronic myelogenous leukemia patients often receive imatinib therapy which allows more than 90% of people to keep the disease in check for at least five years.
How many people had leukemia worldwide in 2015 and what were the death rates?
In 2015 leukemia was present in 2.3 million people worldwide and caused 353,500 deaths. Approximately 44,270 new cases were diagnosed in the United States during the year 2008 alone.