Leukemia Prognosis

Leukemia is one of the several forms of cancer, which is a disease characterized by abnormal proliferation of certain cells in the human body. Leukemia is known as cancer of the blood or bone marrow, mostly characterized by an abnormal increase in the number of white blood cells in the body. In this Buzzle article, I present Leukemia prognosis scenarios for various age groups.

About Leukemia

The blood cells of the human body, including the red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets are created from stem cells in the bone marrow. In people affected by Leukemia, abnormal, long-life blood cells are produced in the bone marrow, which leads to a disruption in functioning of normal blood cells. It has a larger incidence rate in adults than in children.

Depending on the types of blood cells that show cancerous behavior, Leukemia can be differentiated into two prime types, which are lymphocytic leukemia and myeloid leukemia. These two types of leukemia are further divided into 'chronic' and 'acute', depending on the rate of progression of the disease. Causes of leukemia are varied, ranging from radiation exposure to genetic history.

Leukemia Prognosis for Different Age Groups

Prognosis of a disease predicts the course of development, as well as life expectancy, based on a large quantity of medical data collected all over the world. Let us look at what is the medical prognosis for the different types of leukemia.

Chronic Myeloid Leukemia
This type of leukemia affects the lymphoid cells created in the bone marrow. It is classified as chronic leukemia, because the affected leukemia cells carry out some of their normal functions initially, making it difficult to detect. The progression of this disease is slow and the chronic leukemia symptoms show up only in the later stages. The early symptoms of chronic myeloid leukemia are night sweats, low energy, fatigue and a swollen spleen. This kind of leukemia is more prominently found to affect middle-aged adults than children. Treatment methods include chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant. The prognosis depends on the stage in which the disease has advanced.

People in the early stages may have a life expectancy of 98 months, people in intermediate stages may be expected to live for 65 months, while the last stage patients may expect to live for 42 months on an average. The longest recorded survival of a patient affected by chronic myeloid leukemia has been 117 months. Several drugs, still in clinical trials may change the picture in the coming years and increase the survival rate.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia
The more severe form of myeloid leukemia is acute myeloid leukemia, which is characterized by faster progression of the disease. This is the most commonly incident leukmia type among adults. If detected early, statistics show that 20% to 40% of patients survive for at least 60 months. Chemotherapy is the recommended treatment method. Older people in the sixty plus age group, affected by acute myeloid leukemia, have a very low life expectancy.

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia almost never occurs among children and has a very high incidence rate among people aged more than 60. Men are more likely to be affected by it, than women. Progression of this disease is slow. If the disease has affected the B-cells, then life expectancy can be anywhere between 10 to 20 years, if treatment begins early. However, those with T cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia have a very low life expectancy.

Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia
The most common form of cancer in children is acute lymphocytic leukemia. One-fourth of all cancers in children belong to this type. It has a high incidence rate among adults, older than 45 years in age. Chemotherapy is the established treatment method for this disease.

Before chemotherapy and other cancer cure methods were invented, a patient with acute lymphocytic leukemia could survive for 4 months at the most. However, thanks to modern treatment methods, about 80% of the affected children are completely cured. Adults have been seen to have a 40% chance of complete cure. Acute leukemia prognosis will vary, depending on the stage of disease progression, but children in the age group of 3 to 7 seem to have the highest chance of complete recovery.

Prognosis made above is based on statistical data collected all over the world. The factor that can lengthen life expectancy or likelihood of the disease into remission is early detection and treatment. Leukemia survival rate and chances of complete recovery can only be determined by an oncologist after he has studied the biopsy and blood test reports. It is vital that early symptoms of leukemia are recognized and prompt action is taken immediately, to increase the chances of recovery.