Haematological Cancers (Leukaemia, Lymphoma, Multiple Myeloma)

🔍 When to Suspect

Leukaemia: fatigue, fever, infections, bruising/bleeding. Lymphoma: lymphadenopathy, B symptoms (fever, night sweats, weight loss). Myeloma (age 60+): persistent bone pain, fatigue, hypercalcaemia

From the full topic in The Ocean Library: Haematological Cancers (Leukaemia, Lymphoma, Multiple Myeloma)

🧭 When to suspect

"Blood cancer" (haematological cancer) is an umbrella term for malignancies of the blood, bone marrow and lymphatic system.

The three a GP must recognise are:

• Leukaemia – clonal proliferation of immature white cells crowding out the marrow.

• Lymphoma – Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin, arising in lymphoid tissue.

• Multiple myeloma – a malignant plasma-cell disorder.

Together they account for around 40,000 new UK diagnoses each year, yet the early symptoms are notoriously vague and easily attributed to something benign.

The value a GP adds is pattern recognition and acting on the correct timescale set out in NICE guideline NG12 (Suspected cancer: recognition and referral).

Three patterns are worth committing to memory:

• Marrow failure (anaemia + bleeding + infection) points to leukaemia.

• Persistent lymphadenopathy with "B symptoms" (drenching night sweats, unexplained weight loss and persistent fever) points to lymphoma.

• Persistent bone or back pain in someone aged 60 and over points to myeloma.

A small number of presentations are true emergencies and must never be missed.

Blood cancer	Typical primary-care presentation	First primary-care action
Leukaemia	Pallor, persistent fatigue, unexplained fever or recurrent infection, unexplained bruising, bleeding or petechiae, hepatosplenomegaly	Very urgent full blood count (FBC) within 48 hours. A child with petechiae or hepatosplenomegaly needs immediate specialist assessment
Lymphoma (Hodgkin & non-Hodgkin)	• Unexplained lymphadenopathy ± splenomegaly, B symptoms, pruritus • Alcohol-induced lymph node pain (classic Hodgkin)	• Suspected cancer pathway referral in adults • Children → very urgent (48-hour) specialist referral
Multiple myeloma	• Age ≥ 60 with persistent bone pain (especially back) or unexplained fracture • Features of CRAB (below)	• Bloods: FBC, calcium, ESR or plasma viscosity, serum protein electrophoresis and serum free light chains • Suspected cancer pathway referral if results suggest myeloma

Throughout, CRAB is the shorthand for the end-organ damage of myeloma: hyperCalcaemia, Renal impairment, Anaemia and Bone lesions.

Source: NICE NG12

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