- What are the main symptoms
- Acute lymphoid leukemia
- How the diagnosis is made
- How the treatment is done
Lymphoid leukemia is a type of cancer characterized by changes in the bone marrow that leads to the overproduction of cells of the lymphocytic lineage, mainly lymphocytes, also called white blood cells, which act in the defense of the organism. Learn more about lymphocytes.
This type of leukemia can be further divided into two types:
- Acute lymphoid leukemia or ALL, in which symptoms appear quickly and happen more frequently in children. Although it develops very fast, this type is more likely to cure when treatment is started early; Chronic lymphoid leukemia or LLC, in which the cancer develops over months or years and, therefore, symptoms may appear slowly, being identified when the disease is already at a more advanced stage, which makes treatment difficult. Learn more about LLC.
Usually, lymphoid leukemia is more common in people who have been exposed to large amounts of radiation, who have been infected with the HTLV-1 virus, who smoke or who have syndromes such as neurofibromatosis, Down syndrome or Fanconi anemia.
What are the main symptoms
Early symptoms of lymphoid leukemia can include:
- Excessive tiredness and lack of energy; Weight loss without apparent cause; Frequent dizziness; Night sweats; Difficulty breathing and shortness of breath; Fever above 38ºC; Infections that do not go away or come back many times, such as tonsillitis or pneumonia; Easy to have purple spots on the skin; Easy bleeding through the nose or gums.
Generally, it is easier to identify acute lymphoid leukemia because the symptoms appear almost at the same time, while in the chronic the symptoms appear isolated and, therefore, they may be a sign of another problem, which delays the diagnosis. In addition, in some cases of chronic lymphoid leukemia the symptoms may not even exist, being only identified due to changes in the blood count.
So, to make the diagnosis as early as possible, it is important to see a doctor as soon as any of the symptoms appear to order a blood test and identify whether there are any changes that should be evaluated.
Acute lymphoid leukemia
Acute lymphoid leukemia, popularly known as ALL, is the most common type of cancer in childhood, however more than 90% of children who are diagnosed with ALL and receive the correct treatment achieve complete remission of the disease.
This type of leukemia is characterized by the presence of exaggerated lymphocytes in the blood and by the rapid onset of symptoms, which allows early diagnosis and treatment, which is usually done with chemotherapy.
How the diagnosis is made
The diagnosis of lymphoid leukemias is made by an oncologist or hematologist through the symptoms presented by the patient and the result of the blood count and the differential count in the blood smear, in which many lymphocytes are verified and, in some people, a decrease in concentration can still be perceived. hemoglobin, erythrocytes or decreased platelets. Learn how to interpret the blood count.
How the treatment is done
Treatment is indicated by the doctor according to the type of leukemia, and can be done through chemotherapy or bone marrow transplantation, for example. Generally, in cases of acute leukemia, the treatment is more intense and aggressive in the first months, being reduced over 2 years.
In the case of chronic lymphoid leukemia, treatment can be done for life, because depending on the degree of development of the disease, it may only be possible to reduce symptoms.
Understand the difference between this type of leukemia and myeloid leukemia.
