Hematologic Malignancies Program

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Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia

What is Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia? | Symptoms | Stages and Treatments | About the Cinical Trials | Greenebaum Cancer Center

What is Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia?

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Chronic myelogenous leukemia (also called CML or chronic granulocytic leukemia) is a disease in which too many white blood cells are made in the bone marrow. Chronic myelogenous leukemia progresses slowly and usually occurs in people who are middle-aged and older, although it also can occur in children.

Bone marrow is the spongy tissue inside the large bones in the body. Bone marrow cells are produced by immature immortal stem cells. These cells produce slightly more mature cells called blasts, which develop into the following types of blood cells that have specific jobs to do in the body:

Red blood cells carry oxygen and other materials to all tissues of the body.
White blood cells fight infection.
Platelets make the blood clot.

Chronic myelogenous leukemia affects the blasts that are developing into white blood cells called granuloctyes. The blasts do not mature and become too numerous. These immature blast cells are then found in the blood and the bone marrow.

In almost all people with chronic myelogenous leukemia, the genetic material (chromosomes) in the leukemia cells has a feature that is not normal (it is called the Philadelphia chromosome).

This page was last updated on: October 7, 2009.