Leukemia

Leukemia refers to a group of cancers of the blood and bone marrow. The disease is categorized by what type of blood cell is affected and by how quickly it develops and progresses.

Leukemia can arise in either of the two main types of infection-fighting white blood cells — in lymphoid cells, as lymphocytic leukemia, or in myeloid cells, as myeloid or myelogenous leukemia. If the cancer is fast growing, it's called acute. If it's slower growing, it's known as chronic.

For many blood cancers, a bone-marrow or stem-cell transplant, pioneered and perfected at the Hutchinson Center, is the most effective treatment. Center researchers are also working to develop other new treatments, including therapies that harness the innate cancer-fighting power of the immune system and highly targeted drugs that selectively kill cancer cells.

Learn more about the Hutchinson Center’s groundbreaking research on the four major types of leukemia:

• Acute myeloid leukemia (AML)
  Acute myeloid leukemia is the most common type of leukemia in adults, although it also can occur in children. If untreated, this form of leukemia usually progresses quickly.

• Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML)
  Chronic myeloid leukemia originates from the presence of a genetic abnormality in blood cells, called the Philadelphia chromosome, and progresses through distinct phases. CML occurs mainly in adults, but a very small number of children also develop this disease.

• Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)
  Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is the most common type of leukemia in young children in developed countries, but it also affects adults, especially those ages 65 and older. ALL starts in the inner part of the bones, known as bone marrow, but often moves quickly into the blood.

• Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
  Chronic lymphocytic leukemia usually gets worse slowly. CLL is the second most common form of leukemia in adults and rarely occurs in children. More than half of people diagnosed with CLL are older than 70, and cases rarely occur in individuals younger than 40.