Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a type of cancer that starts in the blood-forming cells of the bone marrow and invades the blood. It is also known as chronic myelogenous leukemia. CML is caused by a genetic change that takes place in an early version of myeloid cells, which forms an abnormal gene called BCR-ABL that turns the cell into a CML cell. The leukemia cells grow and divide, building up in the bone marrow and spilling over into the blood. CML is a fairly slow-growing leukemia, but it can change into a fast-growing acute leukemia thats hard to treat. CML occurs mostly in adults, but very rarely it occurs in children, too.
Symptoms of CML include weight loss, tiredness, drenching night sweats, fever, and pain or a feeling of fullness below the ribs on the left side. Sometimes CML does not cause any symptoms at all. CML is usually diagnosed in its chronic phase when treatment is very effective for most patients. Healthcare providers don’t characterize chronic myeloid leukemia by cancer stages. They characterize CML as being in one of four phases: chronic phase, accelerated phase, blast phase, and remission.
Treatment for CML usually involves daily oral drug therapy. The prognosis and treatment options depend on the patient’s age, the phase of CML, the amount of blasts in the blood or bone marrow, and the patient’s overall health. People with CML may have an increased risk of other types of cancer (second cancers).
In summary, CML is a type of cancer that starts in the blood-forming cells of the bone marrow and invades the blood. It is caused by a genetic change that forms an abnormal gene called BCR-ABL, which turns the cell into a CML cell. Symptoms of CML include weight loss, tiredness, drenching night sweats, fever, and pain or a feeling of fullness below the ribs on the left side. Treatment for CML usually involves daily oral drug therapy.
