Is there a link between chronic lymphocytic leukemia and stomach pain?
This article was originally posted on Medical News Today
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a type of blood cancer. It affects lymphocytes, a type of immature white blood cell that the body produces in the bone marrow.
People with CLL may experience discomfort, swelling, and pain in the abdomen if their spleen enlarges. In rare cases, CLL can also affect mucosal tissues, such as those lining the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
This article discusses the link between CLL and stomach pain in more detail. It also looks at ways to prevent and treat CLL, the other possible symptoms, and the outlook for people with this condition.
People with CLL may experience various symptoms involving the abdomen or stomach, such as:
- discomfort, pain, or tenderness
- feeling full after eating small amounts of food
- swelling
- diarrhea or vomiting
- abdominal cramping
- loss of appetite
- unexplained weight loss
In most cases, people with CLL do not experience abdominal symptoms due to the disease until it progresses and becomes more severe.
Research suggests that CLL infiltrates and affects the GI tract in about 5.7–13% of cases. When CLL affects the GI tract, doctors may call it Richter’s syndrome.
People with CLL may experience abdominal swelling, discomfort, and tenderness as a result of their spleen becoming larger. Less commonly, they may also feel full after eating small amounts of food, as the spleen can press on the stomach, making it smaller and able to hold less.
In rare cases, CLL infiltrates the lining of the GI tract, causing inflammation and ulcers or open wounds. People may experience symptoms similar to those of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and malabsorption disorders. These symptoms may include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and cramping, and unintentional weight loss.
CLL is cancer that develops in lymphocytes, which are white blood cells that form in the bone marrow and help fight infection.
Lymphocytes make up most of the lymph tissues in the lymph nodes, thymus gland, adenoids, tonsils, and spleen. They are also present in the GI tract, bone marrow, and respiratory system.
CLL is a type of leukemia that develops gradually over time.
About 50–75% of people with CLL do not experience noticeable symptoms. Due to this, doctors diagnose most people with CLL during routine blood work.
The symptoms of CLL often begin when the cancerous cells crowd out healthy cells in the bone marrow or migrate to other organs or tissues. When symptoms first appear, they are typically mild, but they then become increasingly severe. CLL can cause many nonspecific symptoms, so a person may feel as though they have a cold or the flu.
Possible symptoms of CLL that do not relate to the abdominal area include:
- swollen lymph nodes
- frequent infections that are difficult to recover from
- unexplained exhaustion or weakness
- unexplained breathlessness or breathing issues
- excessive or abnormal bruising
- nosebleeds and heavy periods
- bone pain
- night sweats
- low grade fever
- jaundice, which is a yellowing of the mucous membranes, whites of the eyes, or skin