what-is-chronic-myelogenous : Symptoms, Causes, Treatment & Prevention

Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is a cancer that affects your blood cells and bone marrow -- the soft part inside your bones where blood cells are made.

What are the causes of chronic myelogenous Leukemia?

Cause of CML is related to an abnormal chromosome called the Philadelphia chromosome.

Radiation exposure can increase the risk of developing CML. Radiation exposure can be from radiation treatments used in the past to treat thyroid cancer or Hodgkin lymphoma or from a nuclear disaster.

It takes many years to develop leukemia from radiation exposure. Most people treated for cancer with radiation do not develop leukemia. And most people with CML have not been exposed to radiation.

CML most often occurs in middle-age adults and in children.

What are the symptoms of CML?

These and other signs and symptoms may be caused by CML or by other conditions. Check with your doctor if you have any of the following:

• Feeling very tired.
• Weight loss for no known reason.
• Night sweats.
• Fever.
• Pain or a feeling of fullness below the ribs on the left side.

 What are Risk factors?

Factors that increase the risk of chronic myelogenous leukemia:

• Older age
• Being male
• Radiation exposure, such as radiation therapy for certain types of cancer

Family history is not a risk factor

The chromosome mutation that leads to chronic myelogenous leukemia isn't passed from parents to offspring. This mutation is believed to be acquired, meaning it develops after birth.

What are the tests to diagnose CML?

Tests that examine the blood and bone marrow are used to detect (find) and diagnose chronic myelogenous leukemia. The following tests and procedures may be used:-

• Physical exam and history 
• Complete blood count (CBC) with differential 
• Blood chemistry studies 
• Bone marrow aspiration and biopsy 
• Cytogenetic analysis
• FISH (fluorescence in situ hybridization)
• Reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT–PCR)

What are the treatments of CML?

The goal of chronic myelogenous leukemia treatment is to eliminate the blood cells that contain the abnormal BCR-ABL gene that causes the overabundance of diseased blood cells

Targeted drugs are designed to attack cancer by focusing on a specific aspect of cancer cells that allows them to grow and multiply. In chronic myelogenous leukemia, the target of these drugs is the protein produced by the BCR-ABL gene — tyrosine kinase. Targeted drugs that block the action of tyrosine kinase include:

• Imatinib (Gleevec)
• Dasatinib (Sprycel)
• Nilotinib (Tasigna)
• Bosutinib (Bosulif)
• Ponatinib (Iclusig)

Targeted drugs are the initial treatment for most people diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia.

• Blood stem cell transplant
• Chemotherapy
• Biological therapy