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How does leukemia affect the bone marrow and blood-forming tissues?
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white blood cell
Blood is made up of multiple components, including red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, and water-rich plasma.
Leukemia is a cancer of the blood-forming tissues that primarily originates from a genetic mutation in an early progenitor or stem cell within the bone marrow. This mutation allows the affected cell to pass genetic changes to its progeny, resulting in a clone of malignant leukemic cells that proliferate uncontrollably.1
The disease affects bone marrow and blood-forming tissues in several critical ways:
- Displacement of Normal Cells: The rapid division and accumulation of immature or abnormal white blood cells in the bone marrow crowd out healthy cells. This disruption of normal hematopoiesis leads to a decrease in the production of healthy red blood cells, platelets, and functional white blood cells.21
- Systemic Consequences: The resulting deficiency in healthy blood components causes common symptoms such as anemia (due to low red blood cell counts), fatigue, and bleeding manifestations (due to low platelet counts).21
- Infiltration: Leukemic cells may be transported from the bone marrow to other tissues, including the spleen and lymph nodes, often causing them to enlarge.21
- Immune Impairment: Because the leukemic cells do not function normally, the body’s ability to fight infection is compromised, leaving patients highly vulnerable to bacterial and other infections.21