Webster's New World Medical Dictionary

leukemia, chronic phase of
A stage in chronic
myeloid leukemia in which there are few blast cells
in the blood or bone marrow and few, if any, symp-
toms. See also 
leukemia, chronic myeloid.
leukemia, granulocytic
See 
leukemia, myeloid.
leukemia, hairy cell
A rare type of chronic
leukemia in which the abnormal white blood cells
appear to be covered with tiny hairs when examined
microscopically. The hairy cells are malignant B
lymphocytes. There may be too few normal blood
cells of all types because of an excess of leukemic
cells in the bone marrow. The deficit of different
types of normal blood cells can lead to anemia, easy
bleeding, and a tendency to infection. Treatment
may include chemotherapy, biological therapy, and
surgery (to remove the enlarged spleen). In some
cases, bone marrow transplantation is done.
leukemia, lymphocytic
Cancer of blood cells
that are precursors of lymphocytes. The two major
types of lymphocytic leukemia are acute lym-
phoblastic leukemia (ALL) and chronic lymphocytic
leukemia (CML). Also known as lymphoid
leukemia.
leukemia, myelogenous
See 
leukemia,
myeloid.
leukemia, myeloid
Cancer of the blood cells of
the myeloid line. The two major types of myeloid
leukemia are acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and
chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Also known as
myelogenous leukemia and nonlymphocytic
leukemia.
leukemia, nonlymphocytic
See 
leukemia,
myeloid.
leukemia, refractory
Leukemia in which the
high level of white blood cells does not decrease in
response to treatment.
leukemia, smoldering
See 
myelodysplastic
syndrome.
leukemoid reaction
A benign condition in
which the high number of white blood cells found
on a blood test resembles the numbers seen in
leukemia. For example, infectious mononucleosis
can produce a leukemoid reaction.