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Malignant proliferation of hematopoietic cells with primary involvement of bone marrow and blood.
- Presents with infection, anemia, bleeding due to marrow failure; different acute/chronic subtypes.
- Fatigue, infections, bleeding; high or low WBC with circulating blasts (acute)
- Splenomegaly, lymphocytosis (CLL) or neutrophilia (CML) for chronic forms
- Peripheral smear + flow cytometry; bone marrow biopsy confirms
- Emergencies: leukostasis (dyspnea/neurologic sx), DIC in APL
| Condition | Distinguishing Feature |
|---|---|
| lymphoma | nodal/extranodal masses rather than primary marrow disease |
- APL (t(15;17)) → ATRA; CML (BCR‑ABL) → TKI (imatinib)
- Child with blasts and marrow failure (ALL/AML); older adult with high lymphocyte count (CLL)
