Children Cancer: Leukemia Rut Arteaga PRIN INFO TEC 6th period

What is leukemia? Leukemia is cancer of the blood cells. It starts in the bone marrow, the soft tissue inside most bones. Bone marrow is where blood cells are made.

Classified Acute leukemia: White blood cells are released from the bone marrow into the bloodstream before they mature, where they reproduce rapidly. Chronic leukemia: The white blood cells are a bit more mature when released from the bone marrow, and multiply at a much slower rate.

Causes Artificial ionizing radiation Viruses - HTLV-1 (human T-lymphotropic virus) and HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) Benzene and some petrochemicals Alkylating chemotherapy agents used in previous cancers Maternal fetal transmission (rare) Hair dyes Genetic predisposition Syndromes: Li-Fraumeni, Downe, Kleinfeltere

Diagnosis Childhood leukemia is diagnosed by taking a sample of bone marrow from the hip with a needle. A spinal tap is also performed to determine whether leukemia has affected the central nervous system. At the Children's Cancer Hospital, these procedures are performed under anesthesia for minimal discomfort to your child. Special doctors called hematopathologists use a full battery of laboratory tests to identify the leukemia type.

Symptoms Fatigue or weakness Flu-like symptoms Lost appetite; unexplained weight loss Night sweats Frequent infections Easy bruising or bleeding Swollen or tender lymph nodes Anemia Tiny red spots under the skin (petechiae) Bone or joint pain

Treatment The type of treatment will also depend on the patient's age and his state of health. Chemotherapy, using drugs to kill cancer cells, is the most common treatment for pediatric leukemia A stem cell transplant may be required for children whose leukemia has returned or has not responded to standard treatments Radiation therapy may be used when leukemia has affected the brain and central nervous system or is likely to spread to these areas. Beams of radiation are precisely aimed at the treatment area from outside the body

Preventions There is no known way to prevent most types of leukemia. Most people with leukemia do not have known risk factors. A risk factor is anything that raises your chances of getting a disease. Some types of leukemia may be prevented by avoiding high doses of radiation, exposure to the chemical benzene, smoking and other tobacco use, or certain types of chemotherapy used to treat other types of cancer

Help There's many children hospitals that treats this type of illness: Texas Children's Hospital MDAnderson St. Judes Mayo Clinic

Sources http://www.webmd.com/cancer/tc/leukemia-topic-overview http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/cancer/cancer_leukemia.html http://www.cancer.org/cancer/leukemiainchildren/index http://www.mdanderson.org/patient-and-cancer-information/cancer-information/cancer-types/childhood-leukemia/index.html http://www.metrohealth.org/body.cfm?id=1634 http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1957&bih=933&tbm=isch&tbnid=0DemJkmkD6MxFM:&imgrefurl=http://www.methodsofhealing.com/who-discovered-leukemia/&docid=usj-TqJqZ3iAlM&imgurl=http://www.methodsofhealing.com/files/2009/02/leukemia.jpg&w=500&h=333&ei=W3e8T_eSAfHKsQLg-Lgf&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=1533&vpy=182&dur=384&hovh=183&hovw=275&tx=88&ty=85&sig=112684178031161915332&page=1&tbnh=107&tbnw=160&start=0&ndsp=53&ved=1t:429,r:10,s:0,i:172 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leukemia http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/142595.php http://www.medicinenet.com/leukemia/article.htm