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Can A Normal CBC Result Rule Out Leukemia

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Posted on Fri, 7 Dec 2018
Twitter Fri, 7 Dec 2018 Answered on
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Question : Can a normal CBC result rule out Leukemia
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Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (51 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
normally yes

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

welcome to the 'Ask a Doctor' service.

Leukemia causes the production of abnormal cells. These cells can be detected in a peripheral blood smear and the counts may become abnormal as well. For example in chronic leukemias we expect the counts to rise. Acute leukemias may present with very low counts and there may be abnormal cells (immature forms or blast cells) in the smear.

A normal result is very much against leukemia although it may occur sometimes - for example in a patient who's under treatment.

I hope I've answered your question. Please let me know if you need further assistance.

Kind Regards!
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis

Internal Medicine Specialist

Practicing since :1999

Answered : 3815 Questions

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Can A Normal CBC Result Rule Out Leukemia

Brief Answer: normally yes Detailed Answer: Hello, welcome to the 'Ask a Doctor' service. Leukemia causes the production of abnormal cells. These cells can be detected in a peripheral blood smear and the counts may become abnormal as well. For example in chronic leukemias we expect the counts to rise. Acute leukemias may present with very low counts and there may be abnormal cells (immature forms or blast cells) in the smear. A normal result is very much against leukemia although it may occur sometimes - for example in a patient who's under treatment. I hope I've answered your question. Please let me know if you need further assistance. Kind Regards!