Everything you need to know about blood disorders
An important part of the immune system is its ability to tell between normal cells in the body and those it sees as “foreign”. This lets the immune system attack the foreign cells while leaving the normal cells alone. Unfortunately, immune system doesn’t always recognize cancer as a threat. Immune system uses “checkpoints” – molecules on certain immune cells that need […]
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Many cancers may infiltrate the bone marrow, most common are carcinoma of the lung, breast, prostate, colon, and thyroid. In adults, malignant infiltration of bone marrow is most often seen in carcinomas of the prostate, breast, and lung, although any tumor that gives rise to blood borne metastases may infiltrate the marrow. In children, malignant infiltration of bone marrow is […]
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Cold agglutinin disease (CAD) is a rare disorder affecting 15% of patients with autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA). The disease is defined by the presence of cold agglutinins (autoantibodies which are active at temperatures below 30°C). Cold agglutinins cause red blood cells to clump together (agglutinate) at low temperatures. Cold agglutinin disease (CAD) occurs more frequently after the age of 55. Clinical […]
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Cryoglobulins are single or mixed immunoglobulins which precipitate when they are exposed to cold and dissolve when warmed. They may be present in small quantities in the blood of some healthy people but are most frequently associated with abnormal protein production in a variety of diseases and conditions. Precipitated cryoglobulins can slow the flow of blood and block small blood vessels. This should […]
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Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia (WM), also known as Lymphoplasmacytic Lymphoma is an indolent B-cell malignancy in which there is a proliferation of small lymphocytes with some plasmacytoid differentiation. This rare form of blood cancer is characterized by an excess of abnormal white blood cells called lymphoplasmacytic cells in the bone marrow and overproduction of a protein called IgM. Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia is clinically more […]
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Non-Hodgkin Lymphomas (NHL) are a heterogeneous group of disorders involving malignant monoclonal proliferation of lymphoid cells in lymphoreticular sites, including lymph nodes, bone marrow, the spleen, the liver, and the GI tract. Most Non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL) are B-cell neoplasms though occasionally they are of T-cell lineage. These tumors may result from chromosomal translocations, infections, environmental factors, immunodeficiency states, and chronic […]
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Hodgkin’s Disease (Hodgkin Lymphoma) is a malignant neoplasm that usually arises in a lymph node. It results from the clonal transformation of cells of B-cell origin, giving rise to pathognomonic binucleated Reed-Sternberg cells (RS cells). The nature of the malignant RS cell remains uncertain. Clonally integrated Epstein-Barr virus is present in the RS cells in about 40% of cases. The cause […]
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Large granular lymphocytic leukemia is an uncommon condition also described as CD8 lymphocytosis with neutropenia or T-lymphoproliferative disease. The peripheral blood lymphocytosis is composed of cells with round or oval nuclei with moderately condensed chromatin and rare nucleoli, eccentrically placed in the abundant pale blue cytoplasm with azurophilic granules. Large granular lymphocytic (LGL) leukemia has been recognized by the World […]
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Hairy cell leukemia (HCL) is an indolent, low-grade, B-cell lymphoma characterized by the following: Circulating B-cells with cytoplasmic projections (“hairy” appearance). Splenomegaly. Absent lymphadenopathy. Pancytopenia. Monocytopenia. Hairy cell leukemia is relatively uncommon and accounts for 2% of all leukemia cases, which is about 600-800 new patients diagnosed each year in the USA. It has an extremely low incidence in Japan. The […]
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Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) is a low-grade lymphoproliferative malignancy in which there is a proliferation of small mature lymphocytes (almost always B cells) in the blood, bone marrow, spleen, and lymph nodes. CLL is the most common type of leukemia in the Western world. Clinical Features: CLL occurs mainly in the elderly; 75% of cases are diagnosed in patients > 60 […]
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