Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL)

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Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL)

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a kind of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), which is a type of blood cancer. APL is a leukemia that can cause a life-threatening bleeding problem called disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC).

APL is a problem with how blood cells grow at a certain point of development (the promyelocyte stage). They grow in odd shapes and cannot do what normal blood cells do.

Symptoms of APL include weakness and fatigue, fever, poor appetite, easy bruising or bleeding, and weight loss.

People with APL need a special mix of cancer treatments that fight the cancer cell growth and control the risk of life-threatening bleeding.

This type of acute leukemia tends to have a better outcome than other types of AML.

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Author	Jeannette Curtis
Author	Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS
Editor	Kathleen M. Ariss, MS
Editor	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA
Associate Editor	Tracy Landauer
Associate Editor	Pat Truman, MATC
Primary Medical Reviewer	Patrice Burgess, MD - Family Medicine
Primary Medical Reviewer	Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine
Primary Medical Reviewer	Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine
Last Updated	May 25, 2007

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Last updated:	May 25, 2007
Author:	Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS
Reviewed By:	Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Pat Truman, MATC

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