Does leukemia cause vomiting?

Written by Li Fang Fang

Hematology

Updated on December 11, 2024

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Leukemia can cause vomiting. There are two reasons why leukemia patients experience vomiting: one is caused by the leukemia itself. If the white blood cell count in leukemia patients abnormally increases to more than 100×10^9/L, this condition is called hyperleukocytosis. In the state of hyperleukocytosis, the body is in a state of ischemia and hypoxia, which can manifest as dizziness, headache, and vomiting in the nervous system. The other reason is that during chemotherapy, the use of chemotherapy drugs can lead to gastrointestinal reactions such as nausea and vomiting.

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Differentiation between Leukemoid Reaction and Leukemia

Leukemoid reactions and acute leukemia can both present with fever and elevated white blood cell counts, but there are clear differences between the two. Leukemoid reactions are often caused by severe bacterial or viral infections, with the main symptom being fever. Blood tests may show an increase in white blood cells, primarily neutrophils, and peripheral blood smear can reveal myelocytes and metamyelocytes. Leukemia can also involve an increase in white blood cells and fever when there is a concurrent infection, but blood tests will also show reductions in hemoglobin and platelets. Neutrophil alkaline phosphatase score is significantly elevated in patients with leukemoid reactions, while it is generally normal in patients with leukemia. A bone marrow examination can easily differentiate between leukemoid reactions and leukemia.

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Hematology

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What are the symptoms of leukemia?

The symptoms of leukemia mainly fall into four categories: infections, anemia, bleeding, and tumor infiltration. Infections occur because the proliferation of leukemia cells leads to a reduction in the patient's own granulocytes, lowering their resistance and possibly leading to various secondary infections such as respiratory, urinary system, and skin mucous membrane infections. Anemia is due to the proliferation of leukemia cells, which restricts normal erythropoiesis in the bone marrow, leading to symptoms in patients such as dizziness, headaches, fatigue, and decreased stamina. Bleeding occurs due to a decrease in platelets, posing a risk of spontaneous bleeding, which can include bleeding of the skin mucous membranes, organs, and even cerebral hemorrhage. Tumor infiltration by leukemia cells may manifest as tumor masses on the skin surface.

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Written by Li Fang Fang

Hematology

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Does leukemia cause coughing?

Leukemia patients' coughing is not directly caused by the leukemia itself, but often due to pulmonary inflammation that commonly accompanies leukemia, leading to symptoms such as coughing, phlegm, and chest pain. Due to a reduced count of normal neutrophils, leukemia patients have low resistance and poor immunity, making them highly susceptible to secondary infections, particularly pulmonary infections. Following a pulmonary infection, whether bacterial, fungal, or viral, patients may experience symptoms including coughing, severe cases may involve coughing up phlegm, chest pain, and breathing difficulties.

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Hematology

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How is leukemia treated?

Leukemia treatment currently mainly consists of three aspects: supportive care, chemotherapy, and transplantation. Supportive care refers to actively preventing and treating infections, as well as transfusing red blood cells and platelets in leukemia patients, who often suffer from repeated infections, anemia, and bleeding. Chemotherapy can be divided into oral chemotherapy and intravenous chemotherapy, depending on the specific type of leukemia. Transplantation can be divided into autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Autologous transplantation costs less and has fewer side effects but has a higher relapse rate. Allogeneic transplantation is more costly, has more severe side effects, but a lower relapse rate. Whether to undergo autologous or allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation depends on the specific type of disease and the patient's individual circumstances.

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Cardiothoracic Surgery

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Is sternal pain leukemia?

There are many causes of chest pain, and it is not necessarily only leukemia. For young people or children, sometimes injuries such as those from car accidents, sleeping on the stomach, or accidentally bumping into chair backs or table corners can cause sternal pain. However, persistent sternal pain in children should be carefully examined for the possibility of blood disorders. Of course, this can be ruled out through chest CT scans, or, if necessary, a small sternal biopsy under local anesthesia to check for leukemia. But for adults, there are many other possible causes of chest pain, such as gastrointestinal ulcers, stomach ulcers, and duodenal ulcers which can radiate to the surrounding area of the sternum causing pain. Additionally, some anatomical organs behind the sternum such as heart diseases, coronary artery disease, and angina can also cause sternal pain. Thymomas, thymus cancer, an enlarged thyroid, and lymphoma can all lead to sternal pain. Other malignant tumors, like lung cancer, if involving the sternum can also cause this pain. Therefore, not all cases of sternal pain are definitely due to leukemia.