Leukemia cutis appears as red or purplish red, and it occasionally looks dark red or brown. It affects the outer skin layer, the inner skin layer, and the layer of tissue beneath the skin. The rash can involve flushed skin, plaques, and scaly lesions. It most commonly appears on the trunk, arms, and legs.

A normal white blood cell count is between 5,000 and 10,000 cells. A white blood cell count below 1,000 cells increases the risk of infection. In some cases, your child may be given a medicine, such as “G-CSF (granulocyte-colony stimulating factor),” to help increase the number of white blood cells in the bone marrow.

Normal Results The normal number of WBCs in the blood is 4,500 to 11,000 WBCs per microliter (4.5 to 11.0 × 109/L). Normal value ranges may vary slightly among different labs.

What Abnormal Results Mean. A low number of WBCs is called leukopenia. A count less than 4,500 cells per microliter (4.5 × 109/L) is below normal. Neutrophils are one type of WBC.

Your body produces white blood cells (leukocytes), which help fight bacterial infections, viruses and fungi. If your child has too few or too many white blood cells, in general, here’s what it means: Low white blood cell count (leukopenia) means having too few leukocytes circulating in the blood.

While the exact cause(s) of leukemia is not known, risk factors have been identified, including radiation exposure, certain chemotherapy for cancer, smoking, family history of leukemia, and exposure to certain chemicals such as benzene.

The survival rate for children diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) under the age of 15 rose from 3 percent in 1964 to 92 percent in 2010. After decades being considering a death sentence, there is currently a 60.3 percent five-year survival rate for leukemia patients.

Today, the average five-year survival rate for all types of leukemia is 65.8%. That means about 69 of every 100 people with leukemia are likely to live at least five years after diagnosis. Many people will live much longer than five years. The survival rates are lowest for acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Common leukemia signs and symptoms include:

• Fever or chills.
• Persistent fatigue, weakness.
• Frequent or severe infections.
• Losing weight without trying.
• Swollen lymph nodes, enlarged liver or spleen.
• Easy bleeding or bruising.
• Recurrent nosebleeds.
• Tiny red spots in your skin (petechiae)

Acute leukemias — which are incredibly rare — are the most rapidly progressing cancer we know of. The white cells in the blood grow very quickly, over a matter of days to weeks. Sometimes a patient with acute leukemia has no symptoms or has normal blood work even a few weeks or months before the diagnosis.

If this disease is left untreated, a person with leukemia becomes increasingly susceptible to fatigue, excessive bleeding and infections until, finally, the body becomes virtually defenseless, making every minor injury or infection very serious. Leukemia may be fatal.

The outcome of leukemia depends on the type of leukemia, the extent of the disease, age of the patient, and the general condition of the patient. Patients with leukemia may ultimately die due to multiple infections (bacteria, fungal, and/or viral), severe nutritional deficiencies, and failure of multiple organ systems.