A Review Article on Inherited Leukemias.

Introduction Leukaemia is a type of blood cancer and arises as a result of uncontrolled expansion of immature bone marrow cells that have failed to mature and differentiate. The human body constantly produces new blood cells in a finely balanced process known as haematopoiesis. This process begins with stem cells that divide to produce blast cells that develop into immature blood cells. Immature blood cells differentiate to become either lymphoid or myeloid cells. Lymphoid cells include B and T lymphocytes and are white blood cells that provide an immune response that combat infections (Figure 1). Myeloid cells differentiate into other blood components such as red blood cells, platelets, monocytes and granulocytes. (Engblom, Pfirschke and Pittet, 2020). Hence leukaemia can develops in any cell lineage in which there is a dysfunctional haematopoiesis and failure of differentiation.