What are the Causes of Bone Marrow Cancer in Children?

By Vatsal Anand , Onlymyhealth editorial team

Dec 15, 2011

There is no direct cause which can be attributed to bone marrow cancer in children. Unlike other cancers, we do not know about what triggers the onset of this type of cancer. The symptoms of this disease range from anaemia to pain in the bones. Although only the potential trigger of the disease is known and not the actual cause, the survival rate is still high. This is due to the advances in medical science.

Bone marrow cancer is caused by a surplus of mutated white blood cells in the body. Damaged DNA is the final cause of any sort of cancer, and in the case of bone marrow cancer, the production of mutated rapidly regenerating white blood cells is the cause.

Some factors that lead to this condition are:

Environmental risks – These include genetic factors, drugs, radiation and other chemicals. The most serious impact which aggravates bone marrow cancer is genetic inclination that results in weakening the immune system.
Medical conditions – Klinefelter’s and Down’s syndrome increase the risk of bone marrow cancer in children. Identical twins have also been found to be more inclined to suffer from this disease.

One is relieved to know that the impact of environmental factors have reduced among the disease’s likely causes. There is no data link to establish diet and exercise to early development of the disease. That is due to the fact that understanding of childhood bone marrow cancer is very little.

The development of medical science has made diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia possible. It can lead you to a better understanding of the cause of the disease. The diagnosis of the disease often begins with medical history and blood tests. The best way of determining is the white blood count. A high count indicates leukaemia or bone marrow cancer.

Early diagnosis of the condition has been made possible for the children with the development in medical science. You should be aware of the possible causes of bone marrow cancer. It may not be possible to prevent the condition as the direct cause is not known; one can at least be vigilant of any symptoms so as to initiate prompt treatment.

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