• Question: With leukaemia, has the lymphocytes or the phagocytes gone bad or both?

    Asked by alpacasmurf to Lilly on 19 Mar 2014.
    • Photo: Lilian Hunt

      Lilian Hunt answered on 19 Mar 2014:

      As far as I’m aware, leukaemia is the build up of immature or abnormal white blood cells in the bone marrow, meaning healthy ones don’t have room to be made.

      In lymphoblastic leukaemia, cancerous changes happen in a type of bone marrow cell that goes on to form lymphocytes. In myeloid leukaemia, these changes happen in the cells that go on to form red blood cells and platelets (platelets are found in the blood and help block up cuts).

      Beyond that there are lots of other sub categories but I think it’s therefore more about lymphocytes and red blood cells than phagocytes.

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