leukemia

[ loo-kee-mee-uh ]

/ luˈki mi ə /

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noun Pathology.

any of several cancers of the bone marrow that prevent the normal manufacture of red and white blood cells and platelets, resulting in anemia, increased susceptibility to infection, and impaired blood clotting.

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Also leucemia.

Origin of leukemia

1850–55; earlier leuchaemia<German Leukämie (1848). See leuco-, -emia

OTHER WORDS FROM leukemia

leu·ke·mic, adjectivean·ti·leu·ke·mic, adjective, noun

Words nearby leukemia

leud, Leu enkephalin, leuk-, leukaemia, Leukas, leukemia, leukemic reticuloendotheliosis, leukemid, leuko-, leukoblast, leukocyte

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use leukemia in a sentence

Then there was the strength she showed when she continued to coach as her then-2-year-old son Tyler was diagnosed and treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Brenda Frese, closing in on win No. 500, has made Maryland women’s basketball a juggernaut|Kareem Copeland|February 4, 2021|Washington Post
In 2018, three years after she had passed away from leukemia, I went to New Jersey to meet with Olver’s family.
The Internet’s Most Incredible Collection of Food History Has Been Saved|Dayna Evans|January 12, 2021|Eater
Marilyn Rose, who was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia three years ago, until recently was paying nothing out-of-pocket for her cancer drug, Sprycel, which has a list price of $176,500 a year.
Seniors face steep drug costs as Congress stalls on capping Medicare out-of-pockets|lbelanger225|December 28, 2020|Fortune
Cole was diagnosed with leukemia in February, and when he met Aldrete, he was at a particularly perilous point in his treatment.
It started as a spontaneous pep talk. Then this Starbucks barista became a lifeline for a boy with cancer.|Sydney Page|December 11, 2020|Washington Post

The typical cost of a leukemia patient for taking Gleevec is on the order of $100,000 to $150,000 a year.
Will a Covid-19 Vaccine Change the Future of Medical Research? (Ep. 430)|Stephen J. Dubner|August 27, 2020|Freakonomics
Blister rust is like having the flu; the pine beetle is like fast acting leukemia.
What It Takes to Kill a Grizzly Bear|Doug Peacock|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sadly, though she folded more than 1,000 cranes, she died of leukemia on October 25, 1955.
Truman’s Grandson & Japan’s A-Bomb Survivors: A Story of Reconciliation|Clifton Truman Daniel|August 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Last year the FDA approved its use for another kind of leukemia that affects children.
How Big Pharma Holds Back in the War on Cancer|ProPublica|April 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Gleevec treats myeloid leukemia and has turned a terminal disease into a chronic one for many patients.
How Big Pharma Holds Back in the War on Cancer|ProPublica|April 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Diagnosed with refractory acute myeloid leukemia at age 7, Sam was very brave but also very sick.
36 Rabbis Shave for the Brave to Raise Money to Fight Childhood Cancer|John L. Smith|March 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It occurs in well-marked cases of pernicious anemia and leukemia, and, much less commonly, in very severe symptomatic anemias.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
(c) They are decreased in chronic lymphatic leukemia, and greatly increased in the myelogenous form.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
Pathologically, normoblasts occur in severe symptomatic anemia, leukemia, and pernicious anemia.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
A marked increase, accompanied by an increase in the total leukocyte count, is seen in pertussis and lymphatic leukemia.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
A notable increase is limited almost exclusively to myelogenous leukemia, where they are sometimes very numerous.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd

Scientific definitions for leukemia

leukemia

[ lōō-kē′mē-ə ]

Any of various acute or chronic neoplastic diseases of the bone marrow in which unrestrained proliferation of white blood cells occurs, usually accompanied by anemia, impaired blood clotting, and enlargement of the lymph nodes, liver, and spleen. Certain viruses, genetic defects, chemicals, and ionizing radiation, are associated with an increased risk of leukemia, which is classified according to the cellular maturity of the involved white blood cells.

Cultural definitions for leukemia

leukemia

[ (looh-kee-mee-uh) ]

A kind of cancer in which the number of white blood cells in the blood greatly increases. Leukemia usually spreads to the spleen, liver, lymph nodes, and other areas of the body, causing destruction of tissues and often resulting in death.