What causes Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML)?
A risk factor is something that increases a person’s chance of getting a disease. Some risk factors, like smoking, can be controlled. Others, such as a person’s age, can’t be changed. Smoking is a proven risk factor for AML. Although many people know that smoking causes lung cancer, few realize that it can affect cells that do not come into direct contact with smoke. Cancer-causing substances in tobacco smoke get into the bloodstream and spread to many parts of the body. Smoking causes about 1 in 5 cases of AML. There are some factors in the environment that are linked to acute leukemia. For example, long-term exposure to high levels of benzene is a risk factor for AML, and high-dose radiation exposure (such as from an atomic blast or nuclear reactor accident) also increases the risk. People who have had other cancers and were treated with certain chemotherapy drugs are more likely to develop AML. Most of these cases of AML happen within 9 years after treatment. There is some concern a
