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BIOLOGY PROJECT
(2021-2022)
BLOOD CANCER
(LEUKEMIA)
Name: Kesar Patil
Class: XI-Science
Roll no. : 32
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Certificate
This is to certify that Master/Miss.
___________________________ of class
XI – Science has satisfactorily completed
his/her practical work in Biology on the topic
“Blood Cancer-Leukemia” during the
academic year 2021-22 as per the
requirements of CBSE curriculum.
Teacher In-charge Principal
External examiner School Stamp
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Acknowledgement
This project has become an accomplishment with
help and support of many individuals for which I’m
really gratefully.
Foremost, I would like to thank Mrs Anju Singh,
Principal, Reliance Foundation school, Lodhivali for
providing me with this opportunity and making me
able enough to carry out this project.
A special thanks to my coordinator, Mr Dipak
Choudhari, for providing me with all the required
facilities for successful completion of this project.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude towards
my Biology teacher, Mrs Sreeja Sreekumar for her
valuable guidance and support. Without her
constant motivation, this project would not have
been possible.
Last but not the least, words will not do enough
justice to express my adulation towards my family
and friends who helped me throughout this project.
Their unconditional love and support will always
remain my strength.
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Content
What is Cancer?
Leukemia
Types of Leukemia
Causes
Symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatment
Reducing the risk of Leukemia
Conclusion
Bibliography
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What is Cancer?
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell
growth with the potential to invade or spread to other
parts of the body. Over 100 types of cancers affect
humans.
These diseases are characterized by a cellular
malfunction. Healthy cells are programmed to ‘know
what to do and when to do’. Cancerous cells do not
have this programming and therefore replicate and
grow out of control. A cancerous cell divides to form
two cells that contain damaged genetic material.
Cancerous cells in together are called Neoplasm.
Fig 1. Neoplasm
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Leukemia
Leukemia is a cancer of the early blood-forming
cells. Most often, leukemia is a cancer of the white
blood cells, but some leukemia start in other blood
cell types. It is a malignant progressive disease in
which the bone marrow and other blood-forming
organs produce increased numbers of immature or
abnormal leukocytes. These suppress the
production of normal blood cells, leading to anaemia
and other symptoms. There are several types of
leukemia, which are divided based mainly on
whether the leukemia is acute (fast growing) or
chronic (slower growing) and whether it starts in
myeloid cells or lymphoid cells. Different types of
leukemia have different treatment options and
outlook.
Fig 2: Difference in normal blood cell and leukemic cell
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Types of Leukemia
There are several types of leukemia. They are
grouped in two ways:
By how quick the disease develops :
Chronic : a slower growing cancer (develops
slowly and may worsen over an extended
period of time)
Acute: a fast growing cancer (develops
suddenly and lasts for a short time)
By the types of blood cells that are affected:
Lymphoid cells
Myeloid cells
The four most common types of leukemia are:
Acute lymphocytic leukemia
Acute myeloid leukemia
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia
Chronic myeloid leukemia
The rare types of leukemia are:
Prolymphocytic leukemia
Large granular lymphocytic
Hairy cell leukemia
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Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL)
ALL is more common in children.
This type of leukemia begins in the B or T lymphocytes,
which are immature white blood cells. Lymphocytes are
the building blocks of the lymphoid tissues that make up
the immune system.
ALL can affect the bone marrow all over the body.
It can also spread to the:
Lymph nodes
Liver
Spleen
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML)
AML is the most common type of acute leukemia in
adults.
It tends to progress quickly. It can affect any component
of the blood and there are many subtypes of AML.
Blood stem cells in the bone marrow form into either:
Lymphoid cells, which become white blood cells.
Myeloid cells, which can become red blood cells, white
blood cells, or platelets.
In AML, myeloid stem cells usually mature into abnormal
myeloblasts, or white blood cells. But, they sometimes
become abnormal red blood cells or platelets.
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Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
CLL accounts for about a third of leukemia diagnoses. It
usually affects older adults.
One form of CLL progresses slowly. Symptoms may not
appear until years after onset. Another form of CLL grows
very quickly.
CLL begins in the B lymphocytes. As the abnormal cells
proliferate, they crowd out the normal cells.
More subtypes of CLL exist that affect other types of cells.
Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML)
This type of leukemia is rare. Only 10 percent of
leukemias are CML.
Adults are more likely than children to get CML.
CML occurs when a genetic change turns the myeloid
cells into immature cancer cells. These cells then grow
slowly and overwhelm the healthy cells in the bone
marrow and blood.
A subtype of CML can form very quickly. This type is
hard to treat.
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Causes
While the exact cause of leukemia – or any cancer,
for that matter – is unknown, there are several risk
factors that have been identified, such as radiation
exposure, previous cancer treatment and being over
the age of 65.
With regard to the specific genetic and
environmental factors that are thought to be linked
to leukemia, and what causes bone marrow cells to
mutate, researchers are evaluating certain
combinations of:
A genetic predisposition
Down syndrome
Human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV)
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
Exposure to petrochemicals, such as benzene
Extensive exposure to artificial ionizing radiation
Alkylating chemotherapy agents administered to treat
other types of cancer
Tobacco use
Use of certain hair dyes
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Symptoms
Each leukemia is different but they can share some
common symptoms and signs.
Pain areas : in the bone or joint
Whole body : chills, dizziness, fatigue, fever,
nausea, night sweats, weakness or sweating
Gastrointestinal : blood in stool or diarrhoea
Skin : rashes or red spots
Also common: bleeding, easy bruising,
headache, mouth ulcer, nosebleed, and pallor,
shortness of breath, swelling, swollen lymph
nodes or unintentional weight loss.
(Fig 3: Symptoms of leukemia)
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Diagnosis
Diagnosis includes:
Blood tests : doctors will look for physical signs
of leukemia
Bone marrow exam: doctor will recommend a
procedure to take bone marrow out of the
hipbone, from there the sample will be taken to
a laboratory to be looked at.
Diagnostic imaging tests – CT scan, PET scan,
and x-ray
Physical exam : doctors will look for physical
signs of leukemia
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Treatment
Treatment options for leukemia depends on the:
The type and stage of cancer
The spread of disease
Patient’s basic health
Patient’s age
Leukemia treatments may include:
Stem cell transplantation: Also called hematopoietic
progenitor cell transplantation, this procedure infuses
healthy blood-forming stem cells into the body. Stem
cells are collected from the bone marrow, circulating
(peripheral) blood and/or umbilical cord blood. Stem
cells may come from the patient or from a matched
donor.
Radiation therapy: This treatment for leukemia may
be used to destroy leukemia cells, to relieve
discomfort caused by an enlarged liver or spleen, or
swollen lymph nodes, or to help treat pain from bone
damage caused by leukemia cells growing in the bone
marrow. Radiation therapy may also be given in low
doses just before a stem cell transplant.
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Chemotherapy: This treatment often consists of
giving several drugs together in a set regimen.
Because each medication destroys tumour cells in
different ways, a combination of drugs may make the
cells more vulnerable to treatment.
Targeted therapy: Targeted therapy drugs may be
used in combination with other leukemia treatments,
such as chemotherapy. Unlike standard
chemotherapy, which affects all cells in the body,
targeted therapy directly attacks leukemia cells,
helping to reduce damage to healthy cells and reduce
side effects.
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Reducing the risk of Leukemia
Be a non-smoker or quit smoking if you
smoke.
Maintain a healthy body weight.
Avoid exposures to pesticides and
industrial chemicals.
Conclusion
From the above report it is clear that Leukemia
is the most commonly found blood cancer. It
includes acute and chronic types of leukemia
which cause fever and severe pain in joints.
Therapies have tremendously emerged as a
promising methods to treat this type of cancer to
some extend.
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Bibliography
https://www.cancercenter.com/cancer-types/leukemia
https://hillman.upmc.com/cancer-
care/blood/types/leukemia
https://www.smore.com/5x0v2-cancer-project-leukemia
https://moffitt.org/cancers/leukemia/diagnosis/causes/
