Webster's New World Medical Dictionary

leucemia
See 
leukemia.
leukemia
Cancer of the blood cells. Strictly
speaking, leukemia should refer only to cancer of
the white blood cells (leukocytes), but in practice it
can apply to malignancy of any cellular element in
the blood or bone marrow, as in red cell leukemia
(erythroleukemia). Treatment may involve chemo-
therapy, radiation therapy, biological therapy,
and/or bone marrow transplantation. Also spelled
leucemia. See also 
accelerated phase of leukemia;
leukemia, blastic phase of; leukemia, chronic
phase of; leukemia, hairy cell; leukemia, lympho-
cytic; leukemia, myeloid; leukemia, refractory;
myelodysplastic syndrome.
leukemia, accelerated phase of
See 
acceler-
ated phase of leukemia.
leukemia, acute lymphoblastic
A form of
leukemia that has a sudden onset and is character-
ized by the presence in the blood and bone marrow
of large numbers of unusually immature white
blood cells that are precursors of lymphocytes
(lymphoblasts). Lymphoblasts are rarely seen in the
blood under normal circumstances. Abbreviated
ALL. Treatment for ALL may include chemotherapy,
radiation, biological therapy, and bone marrow
transplantation. There is a high cure rate for ALL
today, especially among children. Also known as
acute lymphocytic leukemia.
leukemia, acute myeloid
A quickly progressive
malignancy in which there are too many immature
blood-forming cells that are precursors to the granu-
locytes or monocytes in the blood and bone marrow.
Abbreviated AML. AML can occur in children and
adults. In AML, the red blood cell levels may be low,
causing anemia; platelet levels may be low, causing
bleeding and bruising; and the white blood cell levels
may be low, leading to infections. Treatments for AML
include chemotherapy and bone marrow transplan-
tation. The treatment of the subtype of AML called
acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) differs from that
for other forms of AML; it uses all-trans-retinoic acid
(ATRA), which induces a complete response in 70
percent of cases and extends survival. Also known as
acute myelogenous leukemia and acute nonlympho-
cytic leukemia (ANLL).