leukemia

[loo-kee-mee-uh]

noun

Pathology.

1. 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.

leukemia

1. 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.

leukemia

1. 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.

Other Word Forms

• leukemic adjective
• antileukemic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of leukemia¹

First recorded in 1850–55; earlier leuchaemia, from German Leukämie; equivalent to leuko- + -emia

Example Sentences

Last week, Tatiana Schlossberg, granddaughter of former President John F. Kennedy, published a moving essay in The New Yorker detailing her battle with a terminal form of leukemia.

Read more on Salon

The show’s new profiles include the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint: Carlo Acutis, who died of leukemia at age 15 in 2006 and was canonized in September by Pope Leo XIV.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Blood stem cell transplants are already used to treat cancers of the blood and immune system, including leukemia and lymphoma.

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Researchers at Rutgers Health and collaborating institutions have uncovered why a widely used leukemia medication eventually stops helping most patients and have also identified a possible strategy to reverse this resistance.

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Tatiana Schlossberg, granddaughter of slain President John F. Kennedy, is battling a rare form of leukemia and may have less than a year to live.

Read more on Los Angeles Times