Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a hematologic neoplasm in which naive blood cells replicate rapidly in the bone marrow and fail to mature into normal cells. At the same time, the rapidly growing neoplastic leukemia cells inhibit the production of red blood cells and platelets in the marrow, causing anemia, bleeding and infection. Therefore, AML is a very serious disease. Liu Lingbo, Department of Hematology, Wuhan Union Medical College Hospital
The time to transition to AML is variable, with some cases transitioning more slowly and others very rapidly. The transition to AML is often preceded by a progressive decrease in blood counts and a bone marrow biopsy showing reticulocyte fibrosis. According to the WHO classification, the diagnosis of AML is established when the white blood naïve cell count in the bone marrow is ≥20%.