What is AML?

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a type of blood cancer that affects immature blood cells in the bone marrow. When you have AML, abnormal blood cells grow quickly and interfere with the production of healthy blood cells.

Bone marrow is the soft tissue inside certain bones where blood cells are made. AML begins in the bone marrow but can quickly move into the blood. In some cases, AML cells can also spread to other parts of the body.

Why is it called AML? 

• The word “acute” refers to a disease that progresses quickly 

• Myeloid refers the the type of blood cells affected 

• Leukemia refers to starting in a blood-forming tissue (bone marrow)

How does AML affect blood cells?

Blood cells begin as immature cells called blood-forming stem cells. These turn into myeloid stem cells and lymphoid stem cells. Those normally develop into different types of mature blood cells that each have an important job in the body.

In AML, changes in the DNA of  developing myeloid cells cause them to grow and divide abnormally. These abnormal cells are often called myeloblasts or blasts. Instead of developing into healthy, mature blood cells, the blasts build up in the bone marrow and blood.

What causes AML?

The exact cause of AML is not known. But several factors have been associated with an increased risk of the disease. These include:

• Previous treatment with chemotherapy or radiation

• Exposure to certain chemicals, such as benzene

• Exposure to high levels of radiation

• Certain blood disorders, such as myelodysplastic syndrome

• Certain genetic disorders, such as Down syndrome

However, most people with AML have no known risk factors. Many people who have risk factors do not develop the disease. It's important to note that AML is not a contagious disease. It cannot be passed from person to person.

What are the Types of AML?

AML is not a single disease. It is the name given to a group of leukemias that develop in the myeloid cell line in the bone marrow. Myeloid cells are red blood cells, platelets, and all white blood cells excluding lymphocytes. In AML, the myeloid cells in the bone marrow are affected.

There are many different types of AML. Most are based on how mature (developed) the cancer cells are at the time of diagnosis and how different they are from normal cells. Here are some of the types:

• Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL)

• Acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) with maturation

• Acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) without maturation

• Acute myelomonocytic leukemia (AMML)

• Acute monocytic leukemia (AMoL)

• Acute erythroid leukemia (AEL)

• Acute megakaryoblastic leukemia (AMKL)

How does AML affect the body?

AML can affect the body in several ways, largely because the bone marrow cannot make enough healthy blood cells.

How AML affects red blood cells

A low level of healthy red blood cells is called anemia. Because red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body, anemia can cause symptoms such as tiredness, weakness, shortness of breath, dizziness, or pale skin.

How AML affects white blood cells

People with AML may have abnormal white blood cell counts, but many of these cells do not work normally. At the same time, the body may not make enough healthy infection-fighting white blood cells, particularly neutrophils. A low neutrophil count is called neutropenia.

This can make it harder for the body to fight infections and may increase the risk of frequent or serious infections.

How AML affects platelets

AML can also reduce the number of healthy platelets in the blood. A low platelet count is called thrombocytopenia.

Because platelets help the blood clot, having too few can lead to easy bruising, frequent nosebleeds, bleeding gums, small red or purple spots under the skin called petechiae, or bleeding that takes longer than usual to stop.

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