Low White Blood Cell Count Causes Leukemia – Leukemia is a cancer that develops in the bone marrow, the spongy tissue found inside most bones. In patients with leukemia, the bone marrow produces abnormal white blood cells. These abnormal cells do not function in the same way as healthy white blood cells. Instead, they grow and divide uncontrollably, crowding out and replacing normal cells. Leukemia patients may feel weak or exhausted, bruise easily, and suffer from more infections due to disruptions in the proper functioning of the blood.

Leukemia treatment usually takes place in three phases; each phase involves a unique combination of chemotherapy and medications.

Low White Blood Cell Count Causes Leukemia

Inside normal bone marrow, immature red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets multiply, mature, and are released into the bloodstream. However, in some cases, genetic mutations cause changes in these cells that can alter this process.

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In patients with leukemia, some white blood cells in the bone marrow are not fully mature and therefore do not function properly. These abnormal cells grow faster than normal cells and continue to grow when they should stop. Over time, they begin to overwhelm the bone marrow, impeding the normal function and growth of healthy blood cells.

In leukemia, abnormal white blood cells grow faster than normal cells, overpopulating the bone marrow and preventing normal cells from functioning properly.

The most common type is acute lymphoblastic leukemia, accounting for approximately 80% of all cases. It occurs most often in children and adolescents.

The other three types (LLL, AML and CML) are more common in adults – usually in patients aged 50-60.

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The cause of leukemia is unknown. However, certain factors can increase your risk of developing it, such as certain hereditary conditions, exposure to certain toxins, or certain types of viral infections.

Although rare, some patients may experience pathological bone fractures if the tumor weakens the bone. This is more common if the tumor develops in a weight-bearing area of ​​the skeleton, such as the pelvis, spine, or femur (femur).

Your doctor will discuss your general health and medical history and ask about your symptoms. They will then perform a physical examination, looking for:

Other abnormalities that may be identified by blood tests include anemia (low red blood cell count) or thrombocytopenia (low platelet count).

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Determining the stage or severity of your leukemia will help your doctor determine the most effective treatment strategy.

Treatment for leukemia usually involves three steps. Each phase involves different combinations of chemotherapy and drugs. Your doctor will consider several factors when determining appropriate treatment at each stage, including:

Induction of remission. In the first phase of treatment, several anticancer drugs are used to fight and destroy as many abnormal cells as possible, with the goal of putting the cancer into remission. This phase may take months but is usually completed within 1 year.

Consolidation therapy. Once remission is achieved, treatment focuses on preventing the cancer from spreading to other parts of the body. Therapies used at this stage may include additional rounds of chemotherapy, other leukemia-specific drugs, or a bone marrow stem cell transplant. This phase usually ends in less than 2 years.

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Maintenance therapy. The third phase of treatment focuses on keeping the cancer in remission through a combination of medications and chemotherapy. The length of maintenance treatment varies depending on the severity of the leukemia.

New treatments resulting from clinical trials may also be available to patients who meet certain selection criteria. Your doctor will discuss with you the best course of treatment for your specific situation.

Once your treatment is complete, you will meet with your doctor so that he or she can assess your response to the therapy. Regular follow-up visits will also be scheduled so that your doctor can detect signs of treatment complications or recurrence of the disease. Recurrence of leukemia is possible even many years after completion of treatment. For this reason, most patients will require many years of follow-up.

The prognosis for patients with leukemia is highly variable. Even within specific types of disease, some patients respond well to certain treatments and others do not. Your doctor will discuss your detailed prognosis with you.

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AAOS does not endorse any therapies, procedures, products or physicians mentioned herein. This information is provided as an educational service and is not intended to be used as medical advice. Anyone seeking specific orthopedic advice or assistance should consult their orthopedic surgeon or locate one in their area through the AAOS Find an Orthopedic Surgeon program available on this website. Leukopenia is a term describing a condition in which there are few white blood cells circulating in the body, the so-called leukocytes. White blood cells are an important part of the immune system, helping fight disease and infection. In addition to white blood cells, blood also contains plasma, red blood cells and platelets, which prevent wounds from bleeding by forming clots (x). There are five types of white blood cells with different functions, but they all work together in the immune system. They are generally divided into two groups: granulocytes and agranulocytes (x, x, x).

Granulocytes include neutrophils, eosinophils and basophils. Neutrophils fight bacterial and fungal infections and minor inflammations. Eosinophils fight parasitic infections and allergic reactions. Basophils release histamine to counteract inflammation caused by allergies.

This group includes monocytes and lymphocytes. Monocytes ingest disease-causing organisms and cleanse themselves after the neutrophils have done their job. Lymphocytes are made up of three types: B cells, which produce antibodies, T cells, which help fight disease, and natural killer cells, which destroy infected and cancer cells and reduce fever and inflammation (x, x, x).

All blood cells eventually die, but the bone marrow constantly produces new ones (x). A healthy range for white blood cell counts is 4,500 to 11,000 per microliter of blood. A low number (less than 4,500) signals an abnormal reduction in the number of white blood cells (x). In addition to leukopenia, other changes in blood cell counts are also important indicators of health.

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For example, leukocytosis signals a high white blood cell count, while bandemia occurs when there are large numbers of immature blood cells in the blood due to inflammation or infection (x, x). On the other hand, anemia is a condition characterized by an insufficient number of red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body (x). Thrombocytopenia occurs when the platelet count is low and the blood cannot clot to prevent wounds from bleeding (x).

Leukopenia results from a factor that reduces the production of white blood cells or causes the body to use them excessively. However, it may be the result of both situations. In some cases, leukopenia may be hereditary, although this is very rare. Most often, it is due to another factor (x).

Some types of cancer may cause patients to have a low white blood cell count. For example, it may be the result of leukemia, a type of cancer that develops in the bone marrow. Healthy cells turn into leukemic cells and can grow to be more numerous than healthy cells (x). Additionally, treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and bone marrow transplantation can also reduce the number of white blood cells in cancer patients (x).

The patient may also have a bone marrow disease that interferes with the production of white blood cells. The marrow may also produce too much of one type of white blood cell and not enough of another (x).

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Immune system diseases can also destroy white blood cells. For example, HIV/AIDS destroys T cells. Similarly, autoimmune disease occurs when the body’s immune system malfunctions and mistakenly attacks healthy cells. For example, lupus causes the body to attack and damage healthy white blood cells, possibly leading to leukopenia (x). It may also result from rheumatoid arthritis, which causes inflammation in the body as an autoimmune response (x).

Leukopenia is a symptom in itself and does not cause any other symptoms on its own. Patients may detect it in a blood test, and cancer patients may discover it after infection. Although leukopenia itself has no symptoms, you may notice symptoms of the infection causing it, such as fever, chills, swelling, painful urination, diarrhea, shortness of breath or sore throat (x). The most serious risk of leukopenia is that it increases the risk of further infections, especially in cancer patients or other patients with weakened immune systems (x).

Patients have a low white blood cell count on a blood test, and correcting this condition means addressing the underlying cause. Most often, doctors prescribe antibiotics for bacterial or fungal infections (x). If a drug causes your white blood cell count to drop, your doctor may change the dosage of the drug, including chemotherapy, to bring your white blood cell count back to normal. If leukopenia is the result of a genetic condition, your doctor may stimulate your white blood cell count with a bone marrow-derived growth factor that helps repair your white blood cells (x).

According to research, there are several nutrients that may be helpful in improving blood cell counts and immune system function. Patients can include some of these nutrients in their regular treatment plans. However, please remember that dietary supplements do not replace legal products in any way

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