What is Canine Chronic Lymphoid Leukemia?
• Lymphoid leukemias are rare malignant cancers that originate from the white blood cells in the bone marrow. • Instead of maturing into normal cells, these precursor cells divide and replicate in an immature and non-functional form. • These cells may be found circulating in the blood stream and/or in the bone marrow. • Lymphoid leukemia can be classified by whether they appear in the blood stream or only appear in the bone marrow. They can be further classified as acute or chronic based on the biological behavior and timeframe of the disease. • In chronic lymphoid leukemia, the prominent cell is usually a more differentiated (mature) cell. They are less aggressive and the disease has a long duration of development with slower dividing or replication times. • Some of the known causes of leukemia include radiation exposure and some viruses, but they are known to spontaneously develop too.
