Definition |
From the Greek meaning "white blood". Leukemia is a cancer of a marrow cell. The disease appears in one of four major forms. Acute lymphocytic or acute myelogenous leukemia characterized by the uncontrolled proliferation and accumulation of abnormal immature cells, referred to as leukemic blasts . These cells fill the marrow spaces and enter the blood. Chronic myelogenous leukemia and chronic lymphocytic leukemia are less rapidly progressive. The former, however, requires treatment in nearly all cases at the time of diagnosis, whereas the later may, in some cases, be non-progressive for long periods.
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