Leukemia is a type of cancer that affects the tissues in the body that form blood. This includes the lymphatic system and bone marrow. There are three main types of leukemia:
1. Acute leukemia, of which there are several subtypes. This s a malignant proliferation of blasts of white blood cells in the lymph tissue or bone marrow.
2. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia, which is a common form of cancer in elderly people. Around 25% of all global leukemia cases are this subtype.
3. Chronic myelogenous leukemia, or granulocytic leukemia.
Understanding the Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia or CML Diagnosis:
A number of tests can be completed to enable a physician to make a chronic myelogenous leukemia or CML diagnosis. The following three types of tests are most commonly used:
1. A complete physical examination, enabling a doctor to find abnormalities, lumps, and other leukemia symptoms that a patient may present with. Usually, this examination also includes a full revision of the family history of the patients, as well as their personal history, and it will determine whether the patients have any specific risk factors for CML. Following this examination, a blood test will likely be ordered.
2. Blood tests, including complete blood count (CBC), can help to provide a chronic myelogenous leukemia or CML diagnosis because it counts how many red and white blood cells are present in the blood, as well as the number of platelets. Platelets are small, thin, round blood cells designed to stop the flow of blood after a cut by thickening, clotting, and becoming sticky. The CBC will also calculate the percentage of red blood cells in the overall sample, as well as how much hemoglobin is present.
Besides the CBC, a doctor may also complete a peripherial blood smear. This is when a thin, stained layer of blood is smeared onto a slide, enabling them to be microscopically examined. This helps physicians to detect the presence of "blast cells", which demonstrate what kind of white cells are present in the blood, and how many of them there are.
Lastly, doctors could perform a cytogenetic analysis, which enables them to see whether any changes have taken place in the lymphocytes' chromosomes. In this case, further blood tests will also determine the functioning of the other organs in the body.
3. A biopsy may be ordered of bone marrow or bone. To do this, a thin needle is inserted into the breast or hip bone in order to remove a sample. This is then examined under the microscope in a laboratory. A bone marrow aspiration can be examined by pathologists to determine whether cancerous cells are present.
Aside from bone marrow aspiration, other biopsies can also be completed, including the lymph node biopsy, although this depends on the suspected type of leukemia. Here, an entire lymph node will be surgically removed for a pathological examination. Alternatively, physicians can complete a spinal tap or lumbar puncture, where fluid from the spine is removed to be examined.
Usually, while someone is undergoing a biopsy, a number of other tests will also be conducted at the same time. These include the ultrasound scan, the MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), the x-ray, and the CT scan.