Question

Malignant Disorders of White Blood cells:

-how do various types of lukemia, lymphoma and plasma cell myelomas differ based on malignant transformation?

- Why are malignant disorders of white blood cells commonly associated with bone marrow depression?

Answer 1

Leukemia is a blood disorder otherwise called as blood cancer. Its a condition in there is abnormal proliferation of immature WBC. This condition commonly affects the bone marrow. In this condition patients are mostly prone for getting secondary infections.

Leukemia can be classified into four types

1. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia
2. Chronic lymphoblastic leukemia
3. Acute mylogeneous leukemia
4. Chronic mylogeneous leukemia

In this ALL affects children between the age if 3 to 6 years age group, CLL affects 30 to 45 years age group, AML commonly affects adoloscence group and lastly CML is seen in old age above 60years.Bone marrow transplantation and chemotherapy is the best treatment for all types of leukemia. For long term therapy they should undergo blood transfusion too.

In lymphoma, its the malignancy of lymph nodes and lymphocyes. It will spread into the bone marrow and affects the cell production. This lyphoma can be classified into hodgkin's lymphoma and non-hodgkin's lymphoma. There are various investigations done to confirm this lymph node biopsy and lymphangiogram. The presence of " Reed-Sternberg cells" confirms hodgkin's lymphoma. Then non-hodgkin's lymphoma will spread to other organs so the best therapy for this condition will be chemotherapy rather than radiation therapy. Thus non-hodgkin's lymphoma is more malignant compare to the hodgkin's lymphoma.

Plasma cell myeloma commonly affects the bone marrow. These cells are manufactured in the bonemarrow and cell structure changes which causes the reason for the malignancy and crowding out the normal cells.

Malignant disorders of WBC will lead to bonne marrow depression mainly due to hematopoetic stem cells which can make the cells matured will be affected.

WBC: It contains lymphocytes,neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils, and monocytes.Beacuse of any malignancy WBC will get immature and push out mature WBC from the bone marrow which is a major reason for bone marrow depression.