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monoblastic leukemia

monoblastic leukemia

7.5
A blood cancer in which one kind of white blood cell becomes too many
  • noun
  • /ˌmɒnəˈblæstɪk luˈkiːmiə/
  • Specialized
translation icon : leucemia monoblástica
  • Doctors diagnosed him with monoblastic leukemia after numerous blood tests revealed an unusual rise in monocytes.

Examples

  • She underwent treatment for monoblastic leukemia, which involved chemotherapy to target the excessive monoblasts in her blood.

  • We went to Salt Lake and found out she had acute monoblastic leukemia.

  • The research study focused on patients suffering from monoblastic leukemia and the effectiveness of new therapeutic approaches.

Synonyms

monocytic leukemia
vsmonoblastic leukemia
  • Specialized
7.7

A blood cancer with too many monocytes, a type of white blood cell

means the same condition but uses a different medical name
histiocytic leukemia
vsmonoblastic leukemia
  • Specialized
8.1

A blood cancer in which certain white blood cells called monocytes and their young forms are too many

refers to the same condition but uses another clinical name

Surface Forms

Morphology

monoblastic + leukemia

The phrase is compositionally formed (adjective + noun): 'monoblastic' denotes involvement of monoblasts/monocytes and 'leukemia' is blood cancer, so the sense ‘a leukemia involving monoblastic cells’ is logically derivable from the parts. However, 'monoblastic' is a technical biomedical formation built from specialized morphemes (mono-, -blastic) that an average B1 learner would not know, so the transparency is only partial.

Etymology

Monoblastic leukemia gets its name from three parts: mono meaning 'one', blastic meaning 'young or not fully grown cells', and leukemia meaning 'blood cancer'. So the name helps you remember the meaning: it describes a blood cancer with too many young cells of one type.