HSC 4555 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Abdominal Pain, White Blood Cells (Album), Hypercalcaemia
Document Summary
Chapter 11: malignant disorders of white blood cells. Leukemia is a malignant neoplasm of immature (precursor) stem cells that is characterized by diffuse replacement of the bone marrow by neoplastic blasts. Lymphoma is characterized by malignancy of cells found in lymphoid tissues (b cells, t cells and natural killer [nk] cells) and usually arises in the lymph nodes. Plasma cell myeloma is a malignant transformation of mature, antibody-secreting b cells (pgs. Acute leukemia has a sudden onset and is typically associated with bone pain, anemia, thrombocytopenia and increased susceptibility to infections. Prognosis when left untreated is weeks to months. Treatment involves two phases: remission induction and consolidation/ postremission with chemotherapeutic agents. Allogeneic stem cell transplantation may also be used. Chronic leukemia has an insidious onset with common symptoms including weight loss, fatigue, sweats, bleeding, and abdominal pain due to an enlarged spleen.
