Causes of hairy cell leukemia

Untreated hairy cell leukemia that progresses may crowd out healthy blood cells in the bone marrow, leading to serious complications, such as: Infections. Reduced numbers of healthy white blood cells put you at risk. Low platelet counts make it hard for your body to stop bleeding once. When you have hairy cell leukemia, a change (or mutation) in your genes causes your body to make too many of the white blood cells called B lymphocytes.

As a result, fewer of your blood stem cells grow into other types of white blood cells , platelets, or red blood cells. Hairy cell leukemia is a type of hematologic cancer.

This type of cancer starts in the tissues that form bloo such as the bone marrow, or in the cells of the immune system. Patients who suffer from hairy cell leukemia disease tend to get bruises or bleeding , excessive sweating (especially at night), fatigue , weakness , weight loss , feeling of “fullness” after eating a little of foo recurrent fever , infections and swallowed lymph nodes. The causes of hairy cell leukemia are not fully understood.

Like all cancers, genetic mutations are thought to be important in the development of this malignancy. Exposures to ionizing radiation, pesticides, and farming might be triggers, but cigarette smoke, alcohol, and obesity do not appear to be risk factors. Read more on this rare blood and bone marrow cancer.

However, physicians know that the cancer occurs when there are certain DNA errors in the development of the cells. In the case of HCL , mutations in the DNA are the reason for the bone marrow stem cells to produce an inadequate production of white blood cells that does not work correctly. To diagnose hairy cell leukemia , your doctor may take a sample of bone marrow from your body and examine it under a microscope to look for hairy cells.

As with many cancers, the cause of hairy cell leukemia is unknown. Exposure to tobacco smoke , ionizing radiation , or industrial chemicals (with the possible exception of diesel) does not appear to increase the risk of developing HCL. Farming and gardening appear to increase the risk of HCL in some studies.

Stories about potential causes are often in the media and it isn’t. It has a male predominance thereby affecting males times more than women. It is also more common in older people.

The bone marrow creates too many of these defective cells , known as hairy cells because of the thin hair-like projections found on their surface. Learn more about the diagnosis and treatment of newly diagnosed and recurrent hairy cell leukemia in this expert-reviewed summary. The development of hairy cell leukemia has also been linked to exposure to high levels of certain industrial chemicals, such as benzene. Benzene is a known carcinogen that is used in great amounts in a large number of industries, such as the petroleum industry, the manufacturing industry,. The precise cause of this malfunction is unknown.

The malfunctioning cells continue to grow and divide, unlike healthy cells, which eventually die and are replaced. This rare type of leukemia gets worse slowly or does not get worse at all. The disease is called hairy cell leukemia because the leukemia cells look hairy when viewed under a microscope. However, because HCL travels between the bone marrow, spleen, liver and lymph nodes via the bloodstream, it may potentially affect any part of the body that the blood circulates to. A few people may experience hairy cell leukemia symptoms such as - Weakness.

Feeling of fullness that causes one to eat very little at a time. Tender and enlarged spleen in some due to collecting leukemia cells.

These abnormal white blood cells cannot perform properly and do not protect the body from infection. The goal of treatment of hairy cell leukemia is to treat symptoms and eliminate as many of the mutated blood cells that cause cancer cells, and replace them with healthy cells. Although the cause of hairy cell leukemia is unknown, the risk factors that increases the chances of it developing includes exposure to : radiation. These excess B cells are abnormal and look hairy under a microscope.

Anemia is a condition when there is a low number of red cells in the blood which can cause fatigue. Neutropenia is a condition when there is a low number of white cells,. Thrombocytopenia is a condition when there is a low number of platelets which can. In untreated hairy cell leukemia : There are hairy leukemia cells in the bone marrow and blood.

Symptoms include nausea, fever, and anemia. People with leukemia can also experience skin-related issues, such as a rash. Leukemia is a type of cancer that affects white blood cells.