Childhood Leukemia

Leukemia refers to cancer of the white blood cells, which are also referred to as leukocytes or WBCs. When a child suffers from leukemia, large numbers of abnormal white blood cells are produced in the bone marrow. These abnormal cells crowd the bone marrow and flood the bloodstream, but they can't perform their proper role of protecting the body against disease because they are defective.

As a group, leukemia accounts for about 25% of all childhood cancers and affect about 2,200 American young people each year. Fortunately, the chances for a cure are very good with leukemia. Although there are special cases, childhood cancer tends to respond better to chemotherapy as children tolerate chemotherapy better than adults. With treatment, most children suffering from leukemia are free of the disease without it coming back. However, since chemotherapy might have long term side effects, children who survive their cancer need careful attention for the rest of their lives.

Children with certain inherited genetic problems such as, Down syndrome, Li-Fraumeni syndrome, Kleinfelter syndrome, ataxia telangectasia, neurofibromatosis, or Fanconi's anemia, have a higher risk of developing leukemia, as do children who are receiving medical drugs to suppress their immune systems after organ transplants. Children who have received prior chemotherapy or radiation for other types of cancer also have a higher risk for leukemia, usually within the first eight years after treatment.

In most cases, neither children nor parents have any control over the factors that trigger leukemia. According to current studies, there is a possibility that some environmental factors may predispose a child to develop the disease. Most types of leukemia arise from non-inherited mutations (changes) in the genes of growing blood cells. Because these errors occur unpredictably and randomly.

In order to restrict the chance of prenatal radiation exposure as a trigger for leukemia (especially ALL), women who are pregnant or who suspect that they might be pregnant should always inform their doctors before undergoing tests or medical procedures that involve radiation (such as X-rays). Regular checkups can help in spotting early symptoms of leukemia in the somewhat rare cases where this cancer is linked to an inherited genetic problem, prior cancer treatment, or to use of immunosuppressive drugs for organ transplants.