Bone Marrow Cancer Symptoms

What are the bone marrow cancer symptoms? Bone Marrow Cancer is a cancer found in the spongey tissue inside the bone known as the marrow. It occurs when cells in the marrow start to grow at an unusually fast rate. Bone Marrow Cancer symptoms are dependent on the type of bone cancer, including multiple myeloma, leukemia, and lymphoma.

What Are Bone Marrow Cancer Symptoms for Each Sub-Type?

Multiple Myeloma is the most common type of bone marrow cancer. It occurs in the plasma cells, which are the white blood cells in charge of creating antibodies and protecting the body from diseases or infections. The overproduction of plasma cells can lead to the development of a tumor, which can in turn cause bone loss and increase the opportunity for infection to occur.

Symptoms may include:

• Anemia (fatigue caused by lack of red blood cells)
• Thrombocytopenia (easily bleeding or bruising due to a lack of blood platelets)
• Leukopenia (potential for infections caused by a lack of white blood cells)
• Increased thirst
• Urinary urgency
• Dehydration
• Abdominal pain
• Decreased appetite
• Drowsiness
• Hypercalcemia (high levels of calcium in the blood)
• Pain or discomfort in the bones
• Damage to the kidney
• Peripheral neuropathy (tingling in the hands and feet caused by nerve damage)

Leukemia can occur when the body begins to overproduce abnormal blood cells that block platelets, white blood cells, and red blood cells from functioning properly. There are four different types of leukemia: chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), and acute myelogenous leukemia (AML).

Symptoms of leukemia may include:

• Fever with chills
• Fatigue
• Recurrent infections
• Sudden weight loss
• Swelling of the lymph nodes, liver, and spleen
• Bruising and bleeding easily
• Petechiae (abnormal red dots on the skin)
• Night sweats
• Bone pain

Lymphoma usually occurs in either the bone marrow or the lymph nodes when lymphocytes overproduce and form tumors that block the immune system from functioning properly. The two types of lymphoma are Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, which affects B lymphocytes, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which affects B or T cells.

Symptoms may include:

• Swelling or growth of the lymph nodes
• Numbness or tingling in the nerves
• False feeling of a full stomach
• Weight loss
• Night sweats
• Fever with chills
• Lack of energy
• Pain in the chest or lower back
• Rash

Diagnosing Bone Marrow Cancer

If you experience any of the symptoms above and suspect that you may have a type of bone marrow cancer, it is important to call your doctor and complete a full medical history and physical examination to determine an accurate diagnosis.

Diagnostic testing depends on medical history and symptoms being experienced, but the different testing options include blood and urine tests, imaging studies (MRI, CT, PET or X-ray) and biopsy of the bone marrow or lymph nodes. Diagnostic testing helps confirm the bone marrow cancer diagnosis and determine the specific type.

Resources:

healthline.com