Types of Blood Cancer

What are the Different Types of Blood Cancer?

Leukemia

Leukemia is a blood cancer that starts in the blood and bone marrow. It happens when the body makes too many abnormal white blood cells, which can stop the bone marrow from making enough red blood cells and platelets.

It is divided into four types based on the kind of white blood cell it affects.

1. Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL)

People with ALL make more lymphocytes and crowd out healthy white blood cells. ALL can advance quickly if not treated timely. Children ages 3 to 5 are most likely to get it and adults aged 75+ can also get ALL.

2. Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)

It lowers the number of healthy blood cells in white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. This form of leukemia grows faster and affects mainly people over age 65. It’s more common in men than women.

3. Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)

This is the most common type of leukemia in adults and like ALL, it starts from lymphocytes in bone marrow, but it grows slowly. It affects people in their 70s or older.

4. Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML)

This starts in myeloid cells, like AML. It is more common in men than women and usually affects adults.

Lymphoma

It is a cancer of the lymphatic system, especially lymph nodes, and affects a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes. It is usually found in adults. It reports over half of all the diagnosed cases of blood cancer. There are two types of Lymphoma:

1. Hodgkin’s Lymphoma

Hodgkin lymphoma is another blood cancer that develops in the lymphatic system from lymphocytes. It’s identified by an abnormal lymphocyte known as the Reed-Sternberg cell.

2. Non–Hodgkin’s Lymphoma

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a blood cancer that develops in the lymphatic system from cells called lymphocytes. These cells help the body fight infections.

Myeloma

Multiple myeloma is a blood cancer that starts in plasma cells, a type of white blood cell made in the bone marrow.

Myeloma affects your body’s immune system, leaving it prone to infection. This cancer is often called multiple myeloma because it is found in multiple parts of your bone marrow. Men over the age of 50 are most likely to get it.

Other less common blood and bone marrow cancers and related disorders include:

• Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) is a rare condition that may occur due to damage to blood-forming cells in the bone marrow.
• Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) is a rare blood cancer where the body produces too many white blood cells, red blood cells, or platelets. Subtypes include essential thrombocythemia (ET), myelofibrosis (MF), and polycythemia vera (PV).
• Although Amyloidosis is not cancer, this rare disorder involves the buildup of an abnormal protein called amyloid and is closely linked with multiple myeloma.
• Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia is A rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that starts in B cells.
• Aplastic anemia is another rare condition that occurs when crucial stem cells are damaged and can only be treated with a bone marrow transplant.

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