What Causes Mast Cell Leukemia?
All the blood cells in the body begin as hematopoietic stem cells, also called blood stem cells. They are located in the bone marrow. These stems develop to become any of the two kinds:
- Myeloid progenitor stem cells.
- Lymphoid progenitor stem cells.
Leukemia is a class of cancer caused by production of abnormal or immature blood cells. They can be grouped based on the kind of cell affected.
Mast cell leukemia is one of different kinds of leukemia caused by the abnormal development of cells from progenitor cells. Myeloid progenitor cells grow to become mast cells, platelets, red blood cells and white blood cells.
In most cases, people with mast cell leukemia have at least 20 percent abnormal mast cells in the bone marrow and 10 percent abnormal mast cells in the blood. The accumulation of these cells can cause vital organs to malfunction (liver, spleen and bone marrow).
It’s not completely understood why MCL develops, but various gene mutations in the KIT genes are related to the development of mast cells leukemia in over 15 percent of cases. MCL can also develop from pre-existing cases.