Conditions & Diseases: Cancers

Leukemia Types

See Also:
Leukemia: Overview
Leukemia: 5 Types & Stages (5 pages)
Leukemia: Causes & Risk Factors
Leukemia: Signs & Symptoms
Leukemia: Medical Tests & Diagnosis
Leukemia: Treatment Options

5 Types of Leukemia

• Chronic lymphocytic leukemia
• Chronic Myelogenous leukemia
• Acute lymphocytic leukemia
• Acute myeloid leukemia
• Hairy cell leukemia

Types of Leukemia

There are two classification criteria for leukemia:

1. Developmental and progression rate

According to this criteria, there are two types of leukemia:

• Chronic leukemia: This is a type of leukemia characterized by a slow progression. In its early stages, chronic leukemia is asymptomatic, because the small number of abnormal white blood cells still can carry out some of the normal white blood cells functions. Symptoms occur in advanced stages when the number of abnormal white blood cells increases.
• Acute leukemia: This is a type of leukemia characterized by a rapid progression caused by an increased number of abnormal white blood cells. Acute leukemia can be fatal within weeks or months if not treated.

2. The type of white blood cells involved

• Lymphocytic leukemia: This is a type of leukemia that affects the lymphoid cells.

• Myeloid leukemia: This is a type of leukemia that affects the myeloid cells.

According to the Chronic/Acute AND Lympocyte/Myeloid criteria, there are 4 main types of leukemia:

I. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia

II. Chronic myeloid leukemia

III. Acute lymphocytic leukemia

IV. Acute myeloid leukemia

There is also another rare type of chronic leukemia called Hairy cell leukemia.

See Also:
Leukemia: Overview
Leukemia: 5 Types & Stages (5 pages)
Leukemia: Causes & Risk Factors
Leukemia: Signs & Symptoms
Leukemia: Medical Tests & Diagnosis
Leukemia: Treatment Options

Article by Alina Morrow,
Medical Writer
OmniMedicalSearch.com