Your doctor will conduct a complete blood count (CBC) to determine if you have leukemia. This test may reveal if you have leukemic cells. Abnormal levels of white blood cells and abnormally low red blood cell or platelet counts can also indicate leukemia.
Blood tests are essential to accurate diagnosis of this complex disease. These tests can show whether you have leukemia cells or abnormal levels of normal cells: Blood smear: With this test, we take a drop of blood and look at it under a microscope.
Common leukemia signs and symptoms include: Fever or chills. Persistent fatigue, weakness. Frequent or severe infections.
Flow cytometry
This test is a very accurate indicator in determining the patient's exact kind of lymphoma or leukemia. The test may be performed on bone marrow cells (taken during a biopsy) or blood cells (taken during a blood test).
A CBC will detail the counts of white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets, as well as the concentration of hemoglobin and hematocrit in a person's blood. A patient with abnormal levels of white blood cells or abnormally low levels of red blood cells or platelets may be diagnosed with leukemia.
Doctors consider any platelet count above 450,000 platelets per mcL to be high and define this as thrombocytosis. In contrast, they consider any platelet count below 150,000 platelets per mcL low, referring to this as thrombocytopenia. Having a low platelet count could mean a person has leukemia.
Patients with cancer often have an abnormally high platelet count at the time of diagnosis (thrombocytosis), defined as a platelet count greater than 450 × 109/L (to convert to ×103 per microliter, divide by 1.0).
B-cell leukemia/lymphoma panel is a blood test that looks for certain proteins on the surface of white blood cells called B-lymphocytes. The proteins are markers that may help diagnose leukemia or lymphoma.
Complete blood count (CBC).
This test measures the number of blood cells in a sample, including red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. A low level of red blood cells, white blood cells or platelets may indicate that the lymphoma is present in the bone marrow and/or blood.
If a person appears pale, has enlarged lymph nodes, swollen gums, an enlarged liver or spleen, significant bruising, bleeding, fever, persistent infections, fatigue, or a small pinpoint rash, the doctor should suspect leukemia. A blood test showing an abnormal white cell count may suggest the diagnosis.
The symptoms tend to be mild at first and worsen slowly. The main symptoms include: tiredness and/or anaemia (pale complexion, weakness and breathlessness) repeated infections (mouth sores, sore throat, fevers, sweats, coughing, frequent passing of urine with irritation, infected cuts and scratches, and boils)
Blood tests.
By looking at a sample of your blood, your doctor can determine if you have abnormal levels of red or white blood cells or platelets — which may suggest leukemia. A blood test may also show the presence of leukemia cells, though not all types of leukemia cause the leukemia cells to circulate in the blood.
While leukemia bruises can form anywhere on the body, they are most commonly found on the arms and legs.
Some signs of leukemia, like night sweats, fever, fatigue and achiness, resemble flu-like symptoms. Unlike symptoms of the flu, which generally subside as patients get better, leukemia symptoms generally last longer than two weeks, and may include sudden weight loss, bone and joint pain and easy bleeding or bruising.
If caught early, leukemia can be cured by undergoing several cancer treatments.
Chronic Leukemia May Go Undetected
It may take months or even several years before the disease begins to cause symptoms that alert the patient that something is wrong.
Leukemia starts in the soft, inner part of the bones (bone marrow), but often moves quickly into the blood. It can then spread to other parts of the body, such as the lymph nodes, spleen, liver, central nervous system and other organs.
Chronic leukemia often causes only a few symptoms or none at all. Signs and symptoms usually develop gradually. People with a chronic leukemia often complain that they just do not feel well. The disease is often found during a routine blood test.
A normal lymphocyte range for adults is anywhere between 1,000 and 4,800 cells in 1 microliter (μl) of blood. A diagnosis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia requires a lymphocyte level of greater than or equal to 5,000 B cells per μl for a minimum of 3 months.
Our doctors may also test the blood for high levels of lactate dehydrogenase, also known as LDH. People with non-Hodgkin lymphoma sometimes produce this enzyme in increased amounts, though an elevated level of LDH may also signal other medical problems.
COMMON MARKERS OF LYMPHOMA
CD19, Pax-5 and TdT are early B-cell differentiation markers expressed in precursor B-cells. Later, CD20, Pax-5 and CD79a control further B-cell differentiation and, are also considered as markers of B-cell lineage.
Certain cancers such as leukemia or lymphoma can lower your platelet count. The abnormal cells in these cancers can crowd out healthy cells in the bone marrow, where platelets are made. Less common causes of a low platelet count include: Cancer that spreads to the bone.
The excess risk associated with an elevated platelet count varies by cancer site but has been most studied for lung, colon, and gastric cancers.
Having a high platelet count, or thrombocytosis, doesn't always indicate something serious is going on. Many times, it is linked to a temporary condition or circumstance, such as an infection or recent surgery. However, high platelet levels can be associated with more serious conditions, such as cancer.