Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Symptoms:
Also known as chronic myelogenous leukemia, chronic myeloid
leukemia (CML) is a form of cancer that affects the bone marrow and blood. It
begins in the blood-forming cells of the bone marrow and then, over time,
spreads to the blood. Eventually, the disease spreads to other areas of the
body.
Typically, being categorized as chronic indicates that this
type of leukemia spreads and grows slowly. However, CML can change from slow
progressing into a rapidly growing, acute form of leukemia that can spread to
almost any organ in the body.
Unlike the three other main types of leukemia, CML has a
significant difference that sets it apart from the rest. It has been shown that
CML is associated with an abnormal chromosome known as the Philadelphia
chromosome (Ph chromosome).
Chromosomes are structures in cells that contain genes,
which give instructions to the cells. The Ph chromosome is an abnormality that
occurs when a piece of chromosome 22 breaks off and attaches to the end of
chromosome 9, which also breaks off and attaches to chromosome 22.
The breaks in both chromosomes cause the BCR and ABL genes,
which combine to create the cancer gene. The link between the Ph chromosome and
CML was discovered around 1960.
According to the American Cancer Society, there were
approximately 5,050 CML incidences in the United States in 2009. CML accounts
for 10 to 15 percent of all types of leukemia, with the average age of
diagnosis being 67.
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