Leukemia

Updated: 2024-03-23

Description

A cancer of the body's blood-forming tissues. It can harm the ability to fight infection.

Overview

Leukemia is cancer of the blood-forming tissues. The bone marrow produces too many white blood cells that don't work correctly. This can harm the ability to fight infection. Many types of leukemia exist.

Symptoms

Leukemia symptoms depend on the type of leukemia. They may include fever or chills, feeling very tired, or getting sick a lot. Other symptoms may include swollen lymph nodes, easy bleeding or bruising, and night sweats.

Treatments

Treatments may include chemotherapy, targeted medicines, radiation and bone marrow transplant, also called stem cell transplant. Other treatments are immunotherapy and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy.