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Acute Myelogenous Leukemia – Causes and Evaluation

Acute myelogenous leukemia is caused by mutations to DNA. Acute myelogenous leukemia is caused due to damage to DNA of developing cells in your bone marrow. Acute myelogenous leukemia could be genetically inherited.

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Causes and Evaluation of Acute Myelogenous Leukemia

New York (USA), June 25, 2013

Causes of Acute Myelogenous Leukemia

Acute myelogenous leukemia is caused by mutations to DNA. However, there is no clear and conclusive fact that discloses how DNA mutations cause leukemia. Nonetheless, certain risk factors that could cause acute myelogenous leukemia include:

Chemotherapy: If you undergo chemotherapy treatment for any other cancer, you could develop AML within three to five of such treatment. Chemotherapy agents like anthracyclines and epipodophyllotoxins used in cancer treatment could cause specific chromosomal abnormalities in the leukemic cells. This leads to acute myelogenous leukemia.

Chemical Exposure: Occupational exposure to chemicals like benzene and aromatic organic solvents is preemptive of acute myelogenous leukemia. Benzene and its derivatives are carcinogenic in nature and hence could be cause behind acute myelogenous leukemia.

Preleukemia: Blood disorders like myeloproliferative disease and myelodysplastic syndrome could evolve into acute myelogenous leukemia. However, intensity of these diseases decides occurrence of acute myelogenous leukemia.

Genetics: Acute myelogenous leukemia could be genetically inherited. Genetic factor is an inherited and unchangeable attribute. If your parents or first-degree relatives have had or develop acute myelogenous leukemia, there is a high chance of you developing it. If you have any genetic disorders like Down’s syndrome, risk level increases many-fold. Siblings and twins have similar genetic traits and hence could develop acute myelogenous leukemia if any one of them develops it. Other genetic disorders associated with acute myelogenous leukemia include Fanconi’s anemia, a congenital or inherited bone marrow disorder and congenital neutropenia or low count of germ-fighting white blood cells.

Radiation: Ionizing radiation exposure as experienced by radiologists working before adoption of modern radiation safety practices, atomic bomb survivors, and commercial jet cockpit crews develop skin carcinoma and melanoma due to increased exposure to gamma and ultraviolet radiation.

Evaluation of Acute Myelogenous Leukemia

Acute myelogenous leukemia is caused due to damage to DNA of developing cells in your bone marrow. This completely disrupts blood cell production in your body. Bone marrow produces immature cells. These develop into leukemic white blood cells. These are myeloblasts. These immature cells cannot function properly. They continue to multiply uncontrollably and eventually they crowd your bone marrow pushing away red blood cells, platelets, and white blood cells. This situation causes acute myelogenous leukemia.

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