Oncology

Question 1

What is the single best primary care investigation for leukaemia?

Answer 1

FBC - leukaemia is very unlikely in the presence of a normal FBC

Typical picture in leukaemia is elevated WCC (early forms may have a very high WCC whereas later, more aggressive types may only have a slightly raised WCC) and a cytopenia across the other cell lines ie low plts and low RCCs due to overcrowding of the bone marrow with these cancerous WCCs proliferating.