Haemopoietic diseases 1: leukaemias

Abstract

This chapter focuses on leukaemia. It defines leukaemia as the group of cancers characterized by an increased number of malignant haematopoietic cells in the peripheral blood and/or bone marrow. The chapter distinguishes between leukaemia and lymphoma, as well as between acute leukaemia and chronic leukaemia. It explores the role of genomics in leukaemia risk stratification in line with the implications for prognosis. Additionally, it considers how the principles of B-cell and T-cell cell receptor clonality analysis can be used to provide a diagnosis of malignancy. The chapter also notes various molecular methods for monitoring minimal residual disease in haematological malignancies.