leukemia

noun

leu·​ke·​mia lü-ˈkē-mē-ə 

: an acute or chronic disease in humans and other warm-blooded animals characterized by an abnormal increase in the number of white blood cells in the tissues and often in the blood

leukemic

lü-ˈkē-mik 

adjective or noun

Examples of leukemia in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The positive effect of direct injection echoes in other investigations, including aggressive ovarian treatment and in vivo CAR T therapy for leukemias and lymphomas. —William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024

That’s usually used for hard-to-treat blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma. —Erika Edwards, NBC News, 16 Feb. 2024

For example, research on workers in the petroleum industry has shown that benzene exposure can increase the risk of leukemia (a cancer of the body’s blood-forming tissues) and multiple myeloma (a condition in which cancerous plasma cells infiltrate bone marrow), per the WHO guidelines. —Jessica Chia, SELF, 12 Mar. 2024

He was first diagnosed with myelofibrosis, a malfunction of cells in the bone marrow, which transformed into secondary myeloid leukemia, for which treatment options are limited. —Gillian Telling, Peoplemag, 28 Feb. 2024

Topalian, 30, was among the first patients to use biomarker testing when she was first diagnosed with leukemia at age four. —Jessie Balmert, The Enquirer, 3 Mar. 2024

In 2017, he was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 12. —Steve Hartman, CBS News, 1 Mar. 2024

Domestic cats have the potential to transmit a variety of diseases to native felines, such as feline immunodeficiency virus and feline leukemia virus. —Scott Travers, Forbes, 15 Feb. 2024

Despite these notable successes, particularly in children with leukemia, so far, their success has been mostly limited to blood cancers, with solid tumors posing more of a challenge. —Victoria Forster, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

New Latin

First Known Use

1850, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing leukemia

• hairy cell leukemia
• lymphocytic leukemia
• myelogenous leukemia

Kids Definition

leukemia

noun

leu·​ke·​mia lü-ˈkē-mē-ə 

: a disease of warm-blooded animals including human beings that is a kind of cancer in which there is an abnormal increase in the number of white blood cells in the tissues and often in the blood

leukemic

-mik 

adjective

Medical Definition

leukemia

noun

leu·​ke·​mia lü-ˈkē-mē-ə 

variants also leucemia

lü-ˈkē- also lü-ˈsē-

or chiefly British leukaemia also leucaemia

: an acute or chronic disease of unknown cause in humans and other warm-blooded animals that involves the blood-forming organs, is characterized by an abnormal increase in the number of white blood cells in the tissues of the body with or without a corresponding increase of those in the circulating blood, and is classified according to the type of white blood cell most prominently involved see acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute myelogenous leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, chronic myelogenous leukemia, feline leukemia, lymphoblastic leukemia, lymphocytic leukemia, monocytic leukemia, myelogenous leukemia, promyelocytic leukemia