Diseases which bone marrow transplantation can treat

Leukemia
The major forms of leukemia are divided into four categories: acute myelogenous, chronic myelogenous, acute lymphocytic and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The terms myelogenous or lymphocytic are used to denote the type of cell involved.

Types of leukemia

• Acute lymphocytic (lymphoblastic?) leukemia (ALL): ALL is the most common type of leukemia in children but may also affect adults. Approximately 3,800 new cases occur each year in the United States.
• Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML): AML is the most common type of leukemia and occurs in both children and adults, with approximately 10,600 new cases each year in the U.S.
• Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL): CLL mostly affects people older than 55 years of age and almost never affects children. There are approximately 7,000 new cases each year in the U.S.
• Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML): CML occurs mostly in adults and accounts for approximately 4,400 new cases each year in the U.S.

Causes of leukemia

The exact cause of most types of leukemia is not known. Often people who have leukemia do not have any known risk factors. AML is an acquired rather than inherited disease. It may be caused by high doses of radiation or exposure to the chemical benzene, smoking and other tobacco use, and chemotherapy used to treat other types of cancer.

Symptoms of leukemia

Symptoms of leukemia depend on the amount of abnormal cells present and may include:

• Fevers and night sweats
• Frequent infections
• Weakness and fatigue
• Headaches
• Bruising of the skin and bleeding from the gums or rectum
• Joint pain
• Swelling in the abdomen from an enlarged spleen
• Swollen lymph nodes in the armpit, neck, or groin
• Decreased appetite and weight loss

How is leukemia diagnosed?
If you have symptoms that suggest leukemia, your health professional will ask questions about your personal and family medical history, do a physical examination, and order blood tests.

If your blood tests are abnormal, a test of the cells inside your bone marrow is needed to confirm a diagnosis of cell type involved. This is called bone marrow aspiration and biopsy.

Other diseases that benefit from bone marrow transplantation>>