Types of blood cancer: Leukemia, lymphoma, and more – Medical News Today

The three major types of blood cancer are leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma. All three types usually affect the growth and function of white blood cells. Leukemia affects immature white blood cells, lymphoma affects lymphocytes, and myeloma affects plasma cells.

This information is from the American Society of Hematology.

These are the most common types of blood cancer, but there are also rare types that affect other kinds of blood cells, or that affect structures within the blood system, such as the spleen.

Keep reading to learn more about the different types of blood cancer.

There are three main types of blood cancer. They are:

Blood cancers affect how blood cells grow and die. They typically cause a specific type of blood cell to grow abnormally, meaning they do not function as they should. For example, they may not provide protection against infections, or fail to clot when a person is bleeding.

In most cases, the cancer starts in the bone marrow, which is where the body makes new blood cells. Cancerous blood cells can live longer than healthy cells, meaning they crowd out the remaining healthy blood cells in the bone marrow and impair their production.

Below is more information on each type of blood cancer.

Leukemia is a cancer of the white blood cells that exist in bone marrow.

Bone marrow is responsible for making new blood cells. This process begins with stem cells, which have the potential to become a range of different types of blood cells.

Typically, these cells go through a cycle of maturation, multiplication, and death. In leukemia, though, young white blood cells do not mature as they should. They remain immature, functioning less well but multiplying and surviving better than healthy cells in the bone marrow.

Doctors classify cases of leukemia based on whether they are acute or chronic, and whether they begin in myeloid or lymphoid cells.

Acute types are fast growing, while chronic types are slow growing. Myeloid and lymphoid cells are different types of stem cells.

The broad subtypes include:

Leukemia most often affects adults, but among the cancers children and teenagers experience, it is the most common. In total, leukemia accounts for nearly 1 in 3 of all cancers in these age groups.

Lymphoma is a cancer that affects lymphocytes, which are a type of white blood cell that fight infections.

These cells circulate around the body via the lymphatic system, which is a network of vessels and tubes that transports a fluid known as lymph.

When lymphocytes change into lymphoma cells, they multiply and collect in lymph nodes and other tissues. Since healthy lymphocytes fight infections, this cancer impairs a persons immunity over time. The main subtypes are Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

This type of lymphoma begins when cancerous lymphocytes multiply and crowd out healthy ones. As the cells multiply, they form masses, typically in the lymph nodes.

This usually forms in the lymph nodes and lymphatic tissue in organs, such as the skin or stomach. In some people, it also affects the bone marrow and blood. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma may involve one site or many sites within the body. It has many subtypes.

Myeloma affects plasma cells, which are a type of white blood cell that make antibodies. Antibodies are proteins that help defend the body from infections.

Similarly to leukemia, myeloma also begins in the bone marrow. The cancerous plasma cells multiply so much that they crowd out healthy bone marrow cells, impairing the bodys ability to make all kinds of blood cells.

The main subtypes are multiple myeloma and plasmacytoma. Multiple myeloma is the most common, and affects multiple sites in the body.

Plasmacytoma often occurs in the bones, muscles, skin, or lungs. Doctors refer to a single tumor as solitary plasmacytoma. They call tumors that occur outside of the bones extramedullary plasmacytoma.

Some rarer types of blood cancer include:

There are also several rare subtypes of lymphoma, such as:

The three main types of blood cancer are leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma. Leukemia starts in the bone marrow and usually affects immature white blood cells. Lymphoma affects lymphocytes, while myelomas affect plasma cells.

Since all three types affect cells that fight infections, these blood cancers can impair immunity. There are also cancers that affect other types of blood cells, such as red blood cells and platelets.

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Types of blood cancer: Leukemia, lymphoma, and more - Medical News Today