Leukaemia

Leukaemia is a term used to describe a number of cancers of the blood cells. It affects the growth of white blood cells in the body, which are part of the body's defence mechanism against infection. Depending on the type of white cell affected and the rate of cell growth, the condition can be subdivided into either acute or chronic types. Acute leukaemia can show very rapid progression and involves an overgrowth of immature white blood cells. This can disrupt the function of many tissues and organs and is life threatening because there are too few mature blood cells to prevent anaemia, ...