Acute myelogenous leukemia, commonly known as AML, is a type of cancer/leukemia of the myeloid cells present in the body of humans. This particular form of cancer is generally characterized by an increase in the number of abnormal cells that gather in the bone marrow of the patient, and thus cause interference in the production and generation of the normal blood cells in the body. This form of cancer is the most common and general form of leukemia that affects adults.
Causes of AML
There are various factors that lead to the occurrence of AML, including exposure to chemotherapy and ionizing radiations, as well as congenital conditions.
Exposure to the various alkylating agents present in the chemotherapy technique generally increase the risk of development of acute myelogenous leukemia.
Ionizing radiations also increase the risk of the subsequent development of AML.
Various congenital conditions, most commonly Down syndrome, increase the risk of the development of AML by about 10 to 18 times.
Factors affecting the symptoms associated with AML
Most of the symptoms that are associated with AML mainly occur due to the displacement of normal healthy blood cells by the malignant and infectious white blood cells in the patient's blood.
This decrease in the number of healthy white blood cells in the body thus makes the patient susceptible to various infections, including leukemia.
Various symptoms of acute myelogenous leukemia
One symptom of AML is anemia. The deficit in the number of red blood corpuscles present in the body may lead to anemia, which in turn causes fatigue, shortening of the breath and paleness in the body.
Another symptom is excessive bleeding. Decrease in the number of blood platelets in the blood may lead to excessive bleeding in the patient, even on minor bruises and injuries.
Early symptoms of AML
Some of the symptoms during the initial stages of AML are similar to the symptoms of any other common infection and include: fever, loss of weight and appetite, shortening of breath due to exertion and pain in the bones as well as the joints.
Symptoms during advanced stages of AML
Symptoms that are associated with acute myelogenous leukemia during the advanced stages include swelling of the spleen and lymph node swelling
In some cases, skin disorders such as the Sweet syndrome develop in patients suffering from AML.
However, in some cases, people might not show any of symptoms, and the cancer might be discovered accidentally during a routine medical and blood checkup.
Tags: blood cells, myelogenous leukemia, acute myelogenous, acute myelogenous leukemia, associated with, increase risk