Leukemia or blood cancer is caused when there is a rise in white blood cell count in our body. These white blood cells crowd around the platelets and the red blood cells, which the body needs to stay healthy and strong. These extra white blood cells do not perform as required. But why does it happen?

Let us understand the causes and treatment options for leukemia.

Causes of leukemia
As such, there is no clarity on the cause of leukemia. It is believed that people who develop leukemia have specific unusual chromosomes in the body. However, it is essential to know that it is not these chromosomes that cause leukemia. It is when these chromosomes are triggered that you get leukemia. There are some risk factors, which aggravate your risk of developing leukemia or trigger the chromosome. These are known as risk factors because they heighten your chances of developing leukemia as compared to others. The common risk factors include the following.

• You have a family history of leukemia.
• You have any genetic disorder like Down syndrome.
• You have been exposed to severe levels of radiation.
• You smoke; smoking aggravates your risk of acute Myeloid leukemia.
• You underwent treatment for cancer, which involved the use of radiation therapy or chemotherapy.
• You have a blood disorder like myelodysplastic syndrome, also known as preleukemia.
• You have been exposed to harmful chemicals like benzene.

Treatment options for leukemia
There are several different treatment options for leukemia. However, the type of treatment used would depend on several factors, such as your health, age, and leukemia type. The common treatment methods are listed below.

• Chemotherapy
  It is one of the most prevalent treatment methods where drugs are injected or taken in the form of a pill to kill the leukemia cells. Depending on the type of leukemia, you will be given either drugs or a single drug.
• Biological therapy
  In this, the doctor tries to treat leukemia using your body’s immune system. So, now the immune system will recognize the affected cells and try to kill them.
• Targeted therapy
  A tyrosine kinase inhibitor, which targets unhealthy cancer cells without causing any damage to the other cells, is used. It also reduces the risk of potential side effects.
• Interferon therapy
  It slows down and then gradually stops the development and the spread of cancer cells. This treatment measure may have severe side effects.
• Radiation therapy
  In this high energy X-ray beam is used to combat the leukemia cells and prevent their further growth. At times, the doctor might use radiation therapy to prepare you for the stem cell transplant. Radiation may be received at a specific area of the body or across the body.
• Stem cells
  Under this treatment, the doctor will destroy your affected bone marrow using radiation therapy or chemotherapy. Following it, new and healthy stem cells are infused into the bone marrow for producing healthy blood cells.
• Surgery
  If there is a spleen, surgery might be performed to remove it.

So, these are causes of and treatment options for leukemia.