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Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) is responsible for nearly 15 percent of all childhood leukemias. In this form of leukemia, a change, or mutation, in the DNA of an immature white blood cell, called a myeloid cell, causes the cell to grow and multiply in an uncontrolled way. (Immature myeloid cells originate in the bone marrow.) These uncontrolled cells infiltrate the body's organs and interfere with their function. The cells also interfere with the body's ability to produce other types of cells normally. There are about 300 new cases of AML diagnosed in children in the United States every year. No one is sure exactly what causes leukemia.
