Acute myeloid leukaemia
Overview
Leukaemia is cancer of the white blood cells. Acute leukaemia means it progresses quickly and aggressively, and usually requires immediate treatment.
Symptoms
Thesymptoms of AMLusually develop over a few weeks and become worse over time. Symptoms can include: looking pale or "washed out"feeling tired or weakbreathlessnessfrequent infectionsunusual and frequent bruising or bleeding, such as bleeding gums ornosebleedslosing weight without trying to
Causes
It's not clear exactly what causes AML and, in most cases, there's no identifiable cause. But some things can increase your risk of getting AML, including: previouschemotherapyorradiotherapyexposure to very high levels of radiation (including previous radiotherapy treatment)smoking and other exposure to benzene, a chemical used in manufacturing that's also found in cigarette smokehaving a blood disorder or some genetic conditions, such asDown's syndrome Find out more about the causes of AML