hematology and oncology
Overview of Leukemia
Introduction
Leukemia is a malignant condition involving the excess production of immature or abnormal leukocytes, which eventually suppresses the production of normal blood cells and results in symptoms related to cytopenias. Malignant transformation usually occurs at the pluripotent stem cell level, although it sometimes involves a committed stem cell with more limited capacity for self-renewal. Abnormal proliferation, clonal expansion, aberrant differentiation, and diminished apoptosis (programmed cell death) lead to replacement of normal blood elements with malignant cells. TheAmerican Cancer Societyestimates that in the United States in 2023 there will be about 60,000 new cases of leukemia (of all types) in adults and children and about 24,000 deaths. 