Back to TopExams and Tests
If your doctor suspects
leukemia, he or she will ask about your medical
history. Your doctor also will check for enlarged
lymph nodes
in your neck, underarm, or groin. He or she will also examine you
to see if your liver or
spleen is enlarged.
Your doctor will
order blood tests, such as a complete blood count (CBC) and a
blood profile. These provide important information
about the cells in your blood. They are used to look into symptoms such as
fatigue, weakness, fever, bruising, or weight loss.
If your blood
work points to possible leukemia, your doctor will want to find out what kind
you might have. Different kinds of leukemia need different kinds of
treatment.
Unusual cells,
chromosomes, or proteins on cells can tell what type
of leukemia you have, such as
acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL),
acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), or
chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), or even a subtype.
It is important to know if you have a subtype of a leukemia. Different subtypes
get better with different kinds of treatment.
Your doctor may also
order other tests, including:
- Chest X-rays, to find out if leukemia or an infection
is the cause of lung problems such as persistent coughing, coughing up blood,
chest pain, or difficulty breathing.
- CT scan of the head, chest, and belly, to find out
whether leukemia has spread there.
- Lumbar puncture, to find out whether leukemia cells
are in your
cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
- MRI of the brain, to look into symptoms such as
confusion, paralysis, numbness, vision problems, vertigo, or headaches. Those
symptoms could mean the leukemia has spread to the brain.
Also, a
biopsy of a lymph node or other tissues may be done to
look for cancer cells.
Kipps TJ (2006). Chronic lymphocytic leukemia and
related diseases. In MA Lichtman et al., eds., Williams Hematology, 7th ed., pp. 1343–1383. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Kebriaei P, et al. (2008). Management of acute
leukemias section of Acute leukemias. In VT DeVita Jr et al., eds.,
DeVita, Hellman, and Rosenberg’s Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology, 8th ed., vol. 2, pp. 2232–2265. Philadelphia:
Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
American Cancer Society (2008). Cancer Facts and Figures 2008. Atlanta: American Cancer Society. Available
online:
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/STT/content/STT_1x_Cancer_Facts_and_Figures_2008.asp.
National Comprehensive Cancer Network (2006). Chronic myelogenous leukemia, version 1.2006. Available online: http://www.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/PDF/cml.pdf.
Druker BJ, et al. (2006). Five-year follow-up of
patients receiving imatinib for chronic myeloid leukemia. New England Journal of Medicine, 355(23): 2408–2417.
Liesveld JL, Lichtman MA (2006). Acute myelogenous leukemia. In MA Lichtman et al., eds., Williams Hematology, 7th ed., pp. 1183–1236. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Johnston JB (2004). Chronic lymphocytic leukemia. In
JP Greer et al., eds., Wintrobe's Clinical Hematology,
11th ed., vol. 2, pp. 2429–2463. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
Greer JP, et al. (2004). Acute myeloid leukemia in
adults. In JP Greer et al., eds., Wintrobe's Clinical Hematology, 11th ed., vol. 2, pp. 2097–2142. Baltimore: Williams and
Wilkins.
National Comprehensive Cancer Network (2006). Acute myeloid leukemia. Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology, version 1. Available online: http://www.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/PDF/aml.pdf.