Overview of Hematologic Neoplasms

Nicholas Burwick

What are the main cell lines that we evaluate

1. RBC

2. WBC

3. Platelets

Leukemias can be ______ or ______

Myeloid or lymphoid

What are the two types of leukemia

1. Acute

2. Chronic

What does rapid onset mean?

days to weeks, urgent treatment is needed, it is life threatening, but treatment can be CURATIVTE

What does indolent mean?

Abnormal blood counts can be present for years, usually not life threatening; very treatable but less curative

Is acute leukemia rapid of indolent?

Rapid

Is chronic leukemia rapid of indolent?

indolent

What is the name of the cancer that arises from myeloid and acute leukemia

Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)

What is the name of the cancer that arises from lymphoid and acute leukemia

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B or T cell) (ALL)

What is the name of the cancer that arises from myeloid and chronic leukemia

Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML)

What is the name of the cancer that arises from lymphoid and chronic leukemia

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)

Symptoms of Acute Leukemia:

Anemia, thrombocytopenia, neutropenia, coagulopathy, leukostasis

What are some complications of acute leukemia

Disseminated intravascular coagulation

What are some ways to diagnose acute leukemia?

Morphology, phenotyping, genetic testing

What is morphology?

What do cells look like under the microscope (peripheral blood smear, bone marrow aspirate and biopsy)

What is phenotyping?

Flow cytometry: what cell surface antigens “marker” do the cells express? And immunohistochemistry are stains of fixed tissue to identify intracellular or cell surface antigens

What is genetic testing?

Chromosomal abnormalities or mutations that are present: karyotyping (cytogenetics) and FISH (fluorscent in situ hybridization) and PCR or NGS

What do you see in an acute myeloid leukemia blood smear