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Types of Leukemia

 There are four main types of leukemia based on the type of blood cells affected by it and the rate at which it develops in the body. Following are the four main kinds of leukemia:

• Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL): This is a blood cancer which affects lymphoid cells all over the body. This kind of cancer grows very quickly and is the most prevalent type of leukemia among younger children. Though acute lymphocytic leukemia also affects adults, the percentage of adults who are affected by it is very low.
• Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL): This is another kind of leukemia, which grows very slowly and affects lymphoid cells all over the body. This kind of leukemia almost exclusively affects adults. Very rarely can it affect children. The incidence of CLL is almost 3 times as high as ALL. CLL has the highest incidence when it comes to leukemia.
• Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML): This kind of cancer affects the myeloid cells of the blood and has two stages of growth. Initially, the cancer grows very slowly but can become very aggressive in the later stages. CML usually only affects adults and the incidence are almost as high as ALL.
• Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML): Like CML, this kind of cancer also only affects the myeloid cells. The incidence of AML is about 2.5 times as high as ALL. This kind of cancer has an occurrence in both adults and children.