Leukemia is currently considered to be a malignant hematologic neoplastic disease caused by abnormal proliferation of hematopoietic stem cells, resulting in massive infiltration of leukemic cells into organ tissues. It is generally believed that the cause of leukemia is unknown and may be related to a variety of genetic abnormalities, and the reasons behind these genetic abnormalities are even less clear, speculating that they may be related to heredity, genetic mutations, chemical exposure, ionizing rays, and certain viral infections.
The types of leukemia are very complex and the causes are very diverse. They can be divided by age into adult leukemia and childhood leukemia, where the younger the age, the more likely it is to be related to genetic factors. The direct cause of chronic myeloid leukemia is the Philadelphia chromosome, but the underlying cause is not clear at this time. Patients who have used specific types of chemotherapy drugs are more likely to develop leukemia than those who have not been exposed to these substances, such as exposure to alkylating agents, etoposide and other drugs. In addition, specific viral infections can even cause leukemia directly, such as human T-lymphocyte leukemia virus (HTLV-1) infection. There was also a significant increase in the incidence of leukemia in people exposed to radiation after atomic bombings, suggesting that radiation exposure is also a mechanism for leukemia pathogenesis.
In conclusion, most leukemias occur in association with multiple genetic abnormalities, but the underlying etiology is largely unknown. Therefore, for the time being, there is no better means of prevention, and once diagnosed, it is better to face the reality and actively standardize the treatment rather than to over-complicate the so-called “cause” of the disease.