Chronic leukemias arise when an acquired chromosomal abnormality (deletion, trisomy, or translocation) in a hematopoietic stem cell destined for the leukocyte lineage disrupts normal maturation and cell-cycle control, producing large numbers of partially matured leukocytes that accumulate and crowd out healthy hematopoiesis. Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) results from a specific reciprocal translocation forming the Philadelphia chromosome and its constitutively active BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase, driving excessive granulocyte division, while chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) results from varied chromosomal mutations disrupting B-cell receptor signaling pathways, causing B lymphocytes to fail to die on schedule; both fall within hematologic oncology and are distinguished from acute leukemias by partial (rather than absent) cell maturation.
Chronic leukemias arise when an acquired chromosomal abnormality (deletion, trisomy, or translocation) in a hematopoietic stem cell destined for the leukocyte lineage disrupts normal maturation and c…