Leukemia Causes & Risk Factors

Conditions & Diseases: Cancers

Causes and Risk Factors for Leukemia

Although scientists do not know for certain what causes leukemia, medical researchers have identified a number of factors that may place a person at increased risk for leukemia. These risk factors include:

1. Exposure to high level radiation like:

- Atomic bomb explosions
- Nuclear power plant accidents (like the Chernobyl accident)
- Radiotherapy (during radiation therapy patients are exposed to high level radiation)

People exposed to high level of radiation are more likely to develop leukemia.

2. Exposure to chemicals: Some of the chemicals that increase the risk for leukemia when present in the environment in high amounts and for long periods of time are:

- Benzene (a clear, colorless and highly-flammable liquid with a sweet odor that can be found in small amounts in paints, glues, pesticides and gasoline, and is widely used in chemical industry),
- Pesticides (chemicals used in agriculture to kill unwanted pests, insects, fungi, or microbes) or herbicides (chemicals used to kill or slow the growth of plants like weeds or brushes), and
- Formaldehyde (a colorless, pungent, and irritating gas used in the manufacturing and chemical industries, and as a strong disinfectant and preservative by anatomists, embalmers, and pathologists).

3. Medical disorders: Several medical conditions can increase the risk for leukemia.

- Genetic conditions, like Down Syndrome or other genetic disorders characterized by chromosomal abnormalities.
- Non-genetic conditions, like myelodysplastic syndromes (a group of diseases characterized by an abnormal production of blood cells) or the infection with human T-cell leukemia virus-I (HTLV-I)

4. Medical treatments: Patients who were treated with certain chemotherapy drugs or radiation therapy are at higher risk to develop leukemia.

5. Smoking can increase the risk for leukemia.

6. Exposure to high-voltage power: Several researchers suggest that long term exposure to electromagnetic fields from high-voltage power lines may be a risk factor for developing leukemia.

Article by Alina Morrow, MS
Medical Writer
OmniMedicalSearch.com