Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML)

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Bone marrow aspiration

Auer rods

Chronic myelocytic leukemia - microscopic view

Chronic myelocytic leukemia

Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML)

Definition:

Chronic myelogenous leukemia is a malignant cancer of the bone marrow. It causes rapid growth of the blood-forming cells (known as myeloid precursors) in the bone marrow, peripheral blood, and body tissues.

Alternative Names:
CML; Chronic granulocytic leukemia; Leukemia - Chronic granulocytic(CML)
Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

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The disease can occur in adults (usually middle-aged) and children. CML affects 1 to 2 people per 100,000 and accounts for 7% to 20% cases of leukemia. It is usually associated with a chromosome abnormality called the Philadelphia chromosome.

Exposure to ionizing radiation is one possible trigger for this chromosome abnormality. Such exposure could occur from a nuclear disaster or from treatment of a previous cancer, like thyroid cancer or Hodgkin's lymphoma. However, the vast majority of people treated for cancer with radiationdo notgo on to develop leukemia. It takes many years to develop leukemia from this cause.