Leukaemia, chronic lymphocytic
It's not known what causes most cases of leukaemia. However, there are many risk factors that are known to increase your chances of getting chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.
Risk factors for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia include:
These are discussed in more detail below.
In some cases, chronic lymphocytic leukaemia appears to run in families. It's thought that an inheritedgene mutation (change to a gene) could increase your susceptibility to developing the condition. This means there may be certain genes in your family that make it more likely that you'll develop chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.
More research is needed, but having a parent or sibling (brother or sister) withchronic lymphocytic leukaemia slightlyincreases your chances of also developing the condition.
Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia most commonly affects people of European, American and Australian origin.
It's rare in people from China, Japan and South East Asia, and it affects more white people than black people. It's not known why the condition affects people of some ethnic backgrounds and not others.
Research has shown that having certain medical conditions slightly increases your chances of developing chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. These conditions include:
However, rather than causingchronic lymphocytic leukaemia, some of these conditions may occur as a result ofhaving lowered immunity during the early stages of the condition.
Having a lowered immunity due to having a condition such as HIV or AIDS , or taking immunity lowering medication following an organ transplant can also increase your risk of developing chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.
Exposure to radiation is known to increase the risk of getting other types of leukaemia, butit's not been linked specifically to chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.
The Cancer Research UK website has more information about the risk factors for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia .
For reasons that are unclear, men are around twice as likely to develop chronic lymphocytic leukaemia than women. The risk of developing leukaemia also increases as you get older.
Read about chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), a type of cancer affecting the white blood cells that develops slowly over time. Find out about the symptoms, causes and treatments.
Find out how chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) is diagnosed, including what tests might need to be carried out.
Read about the main treatments for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), including chemotherapy and stem cell transplants.
Read about the possible complications of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), including an increased risk of infections and other types of cancer.
It's not known what causes most cases of leukaemia. However, there are many risk factors that are known to increase your chances of getting chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.