Haematology & Oncology

Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML)

A maturation arrest in the myeloid lineage lets myeloblasts proliferate and fill the marrow, so normal blood production collapses over days to weeks into the anaemia, infection and bleeding of marrow failure, most often in an older adult.

Definition

Acute myeloid leukaemia is a rapidly progressive malignancy of myeloid precursors causing marrow failure and tissue infiltration. Integrated morphology, immunophenotyping and genetic testing define subtype and risk.

First principles

A myeloid maturation arrest fills the marrow with myeloblasts

AML is a genetically heterogeneous malignancy in which abnormal myeloid precursors accumulate and suppress normal haematopoiesis. Immunophenotyping, morphology and genetics together establish lineage, subtype and risk; Auer rods support myeloid differentiation but are not required for diagnosis.

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