Can Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) Be Prevented?
Most people with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) have no known risk factors that can be changed, so there is no clear way to prevent most cases of CML at this time.
Avoiding exposure to radiation
Being exposed to high doses of radiation increases the risk of CML, so avoiding this could potentially lower a person’s risk. But this might not always be avoidable.
For example, some people need radiation therapy to treat another type of cancer. The benefit of this treatment is likely to far outweigh the small increased risk of CML (or other cancers linked to radiation exposure).
Still, doctors try to give as little radiation as is needed during treatment to limit the risk of this and other possible side effects.
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- References
Developed by the American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team with medical review and contribution by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
Kantarjian H, Cortes J. Chapter 98: Chronic myeloid leukemia. In: Niederhuber JE, Armitage JO, Doroshow JH, Kastan MB, Tepper JE, eds. Abeloff's Clinical Oncology. 6th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Elsevier; 2020.
National Cancer Institute. Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Treatment (PDQ®)–Patient Version. 2025. Accessed at https://www.cancer.gov/types/leukemia/patient/cml-treatment-pdq on April 17, 2025.
Van Etten RA, Atallah E. Chronic myeloid leukemia: Pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, and diagnosis. UpToDate. 2025. Accessed at https://www.uptodate.com/contents/chronic-myeloid-leukemia-pathogenesis-clinical-manifestations-and-diagnosis on April 17, 2025.
Last Revised: June 16, 2025
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