Leukemia

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that leukemia is a cancerous disorder of the blood-forming tissues characterized by an excessive production of immature or mature leukocytes and consequently a crowding-out of red blood cells and platelets. The author points out that leukemia is diagnosed once there is a confirmed finding of an abnormal number of leukocytes in tissue from a bone marrow biopsy. The paper relates that leukemia may be treated by chemotherapy with anticancer drugs, radiation therapy, blood and plasma transfusions and bone marrow transplantation. The author underscores that the most common form of leukemia among children under 19 years of age is acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), which has an incidence among 1to 4-year-old children that is more than 10 times greater than the rate for young adults ages 20 to 24.

Table of Contents:
Introduction to Leukemia
Leukemia among Children
New Cases
Survival and Deaths

From the Paper:

"Leukemia is classified either as lymphocytic (Lymphatic) or myeloid and acute or chronic. Lymphatic leukemia is characterized by an excessive production of leukocytes of the lymphatic type, together with the enlargement of the lymphatic glands and the spleen. Myeloid leukemia on the other hand is a type in which there is an abnormal growth of the myeloid leukocytes and enlargement of the spleen. On the other hand, acute leukemia is characterized by the fast growth of immature blood cells. This swarm makes the bone marrow fail to produce healthy blood cells."

Sample of Sources Used:

• "Leukemia Facts and Statistics". The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Disease and Information. June 2005. <http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/all_page?item_id=9346#_survival>
• "Leukemia". The History Channel. 2000. <http://www.thehistorychannel.co.uk/site/search/search.php?word=leukemia>
• "Leukemia". Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 27 April 2006. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leukemia>
• Zahm, Sheila H. and Susan Devesa. "Childhood Cancer: Overview of Incidence Trends and Environmental Carcinogens". Environmental Health Perspectives Supplements Volume 103, Number S6. September 1995 <http://www.ehponline.org/members/1995/Suppl-6/zahm-full.html#12>

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