This is an uncommon type of blood cell cancer that begins from the bone marrow and is slowly progressing. It causes an increase in the number of white blood cells in the blood. Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia is also called Chronic Myelogenous Leukaemia.

It mostly affects older adults with a peak prevalence between 40 to 60 years. There are 1 to 2 new cases per 100,000 people per year. CML is a serious and life-threatening condition.

Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia is caused by a spontaneous chromosome mutation where an abnormal chromosome, called Philadelphia chromosome causes the bone marrow to produce abnormal myeloid cells. These cells lead to a higher than the normal buildup of cells in the bone marrow. The cause of this chromosome mutation is unknown. Meanwhile, some of the risk factors are old age, exposure to radiation and being male.

Stages of Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia are the chronic stage, the accelerated stage and the blast stage

Frequent symptoms of Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia are fatigue, night sweats, weight loss, splenomegaly, loss of appetite, fever, malaise and pain in the left upper quadrant. Less frequent symptoms are priapism, retina haemorrhage, bone pain, hepatomegaly, easy bruising or bleeding and skin infiltration.

The diagnosis for CML is done through Blood tests (Full Blood Count with Differential, Clotting profile, Kidney Function Test), bone marrow biopsy, Imaging tests (MRI, CT, ultrasound) and PCR.

Treatment of CML depends on the phase of the disease and some other factors. It involves chemotherapy, combination therapy, stem cell transplantation and targeted therapy using tyrosine kinase inhibitors. There is no known method of prevention.

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References:

www.cancer.org

www.healthgrades.com

www.mayoclinic.org

www.nhs.uk