LeukemiainChildren:MostAffectedGeographicalRegionsanditsContributing

EnvironmentalFactors.
Background:
Leukemiaisatypeofcancerthataffectsbloodstructure,morespecifically,white
bloodcellsalsoknownasleukocytes,whicharetheagentsinchargeofprotectingbody
systemsagainstdiseases,mainlyinfectious.
Leukocytesarecreatedinthebonemarrowthentraveltothebloodstream.Whena
personhasleukemia,theirwhitebloodcellcountisabnormallyhigh,thebonemarrow
createsanunusualamountofthesecells,andtheydonotworkproperly,therefore,their
abilitytofightoffinfectionsisdrasticallyweakenedwhichmeansthatmanyother
complicationsmayexistduetotheweakenedimmunesystem.
ThereistwotypesofLeukemiacouldaffectanypersonofanyageorethnicity,
acuteorchronic(acutespreadingfasterthanchronic),butithasbeenrecognizedthat
childrenbetween28yearsarethegroupthatismostaffectedbytheacutetypeofthe
cancer,thereistwodivisionsoftheacuteleukemia,acutelymphoblasticleukemia(ALL)
andacutemyeloidleukemia(AML),ALLbeingthemostcommontypeonchildren.
ThereasonwhyIamconductingthisresearchisbecauseIhavetwoyoungcousins
whohavedevelopedALL,Iwanttotrytofigureoutifanyenvironmentalfactorsaround
theregiontheygrewupinthatcouldhaveanythingtodowiththemdevelopingALL.
Purpose:
ByconductingthisresearchIwanttobeabletoidentifyspecificgeographicregions
withspecificenvironmentalfactorsthatmightbeatriggeringcauseforacutelymphoblastic
leukemia,sharemyinformationaboutwhatregionsandfactorsshouldbeavoidedasmuch
aspossibleinordertoavoiddevelopingleukemia.Identifywhicharethemostaffected
regionsintheworld,identifywhataretheenvironmentalfactorsbehindacute
lymphoblasticleukemia.
Significance:
Addressingtheenvironmentalfactorsincertainregionsontheworldthatcouldbea
triggerfactorforleukemiaisimportantbecause,onceapersonhasdevelopedanytypeof
cancer,itdoesnotgoaway,apersoncouldbeinremissionbutthereisachancethatthe
cancermightcomebackpresentedinthesametypeofcanceroranother.
Sincethereisnoknowncureforleukemia,Ihopetolearnsomewaysonhowto
preventit,whattypeofchemicalsshouldbeavoided,whattypeorradiationshouldbe
avoided,andanythingthatsknowntomanthatcouldcauseleukemiaandhowtoavoidit.
Thisspecifictopicdoesnothavealotofinformationonwhatarethefactorsthattriggera
personsbonemarrowtostartcreatingahighconcentrationofleukocytes,whatIwantto
contributetothebodyofinformationis,whattypeofradiationsorchemicalscould
contributetothisissue,andeducateonhowtoavoidthesecertainfactors.
Thisresearchaboutleukemiafocusingmainlyonacutelymphoblasticleukemiawill
benefitanyonewhoisindangerofdevelopingitduetoenvironmentalfactors.

Thefindingsofthisresearchmatterbecauseeveryonecouldbeatriskofdeveloping
leukemiasincethecausesareunknown,itwillbenefittheregularpublicbysharingmy
findingsonwhatshouldbeavoidedinordertokeepthisdevastatingillnessaway.
Method:
Thisresearchismainlygoingtobecomposedfromonlineresearch,byreviewinga
varietyofcasesofchildrenwhosufferfromacutelymphoblasticleukemia,identifying
regionswiththemostcases,oncetheseregionshavebeenidentified,theenvironmental
factorsofthesewillberesearchedinordertoacquireasenseofwhatcouldbecausingALL
inchildren.Thiswouldallowcreatingadatabaseofwhatregionsandwithcertain
environmentalfactorscouldbelinkedtothemostcasesofALLinchildren.
Problems:
Sincethisresearchisbasedinaworldwideperspective,notallthecasesofALLare
goingtobeavailableontheweb;someofthedatacollectedcouldbeold,unreliableorno
longeraccurate.Anotherproblemthatcouldbefacedisthelackofinformationofthe
specificcausesofALL,noonequiteknowswhythespecificreasonofwhythisillness
happens.Anotherproblemwouldbetheconfidentialitythatneedstobekept(bylaw)
betweenpatientsanddoctors;thiscouldmakesomeofthedatainaccurate.
References:

Belson,M.,Kingsley,B.,&Holmes,A.(2012,July7).RiskFactorsforAcuteLeukemiain
Children:AReview.RetrievedMarch05,2016,from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1817663/
AcuteLymphoblasticLeukemia(ALL).(2009,October20).RetrievedMarch05,2016,from
http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/all.html#
Leukemia.(n.d.).RetrievedMarch05,2016,fromhttp://kidshealth.org/en/parents/cancer
leukemia.html
Leukemia.(n.d.).RetrievedMarch05,2016,fromhttp://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases
conditions/leukemia/basics/symptoms/con20024914
Leukemia.(n.d.).RetrievedMarch05,2016,fromhttp://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases
conditions/leukemia/basics/causes/con20024914
Moghadam,M.H.,Movafagh,A.,Omrani,M.,Ghanati,K.,Hashemi,M.,Poursafavi,F.,...Amani,
D.(n.d.).Identificationofhomogeneouslystainingregionsinleukemiapatients.RetrievedMarch
05,2016,fromhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3793386/