Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a fast-growing cancer of the blood and bone marrow. It causes the bone marrow to make abnormal white blood cells, red blood cells, or platelets. These abnormal cells crowd out healthy cells, leading to infection, anemia, and easy bleeding.

Symptoms

• Fever
• Shortness of breath
• Easy bruising or bleeding
• Petechiae (tiny red dots under the skin caused by bleeding)
• Weakness or feeling tired
• Weight loss or loss of appetite
• Bone or joint pain (if abnormal cells build up near or inside bones)

Causes

AML happens when there are changes in the genetic material (DNA) in bone marrow cells. The cause of these genetic changes is unknown.

Diagnosis

Your health care provider may use many tools to diagnose AML and figure out which subtype you have: a physical exam, a medical history, blood tests such as a complete blood count (CBC) and blood smear, bone marrow tests (bone marrow aspiration and bone marrow biopsy), and genetic tests to look for gene and chromosome changes. If you are diagnosed with AML, you may have additional tests to see whether the cancer has spread, including imaging tests and a lumbar puncture.

Treatment

Treatment is usually done in two phases. The goal of the first phase is to kill the leukemia cells in the blood and bone marrow to put the leukemia into remission. The second phase (post-remission therapy) aims to prevent a relapse by killing any remaining leukemia cells.

Medications

• Chemotherapy
• Radiation therapy
• Chemotherapy with stem cell transplant
• Other anticancer medicines