White blood cells are cells found in the blood that are responsible for fighting infections and foreign materials in the body. They fight infections using different mechanisms. One of the mechanisms they use is phagocytosis. This is whereby the white blood cells engulf the foreign substance and prevent it from moving to other parts of the body. White blood cells also protect us against infections by producing antibodies that are proteinous materials intended to destroy them. White blood cells increase in number when there is increased infection. They do this by stimulating the bone marrow to increase their number. Although this is beneficial in fighting off infections, an elevated white blood cell count is not good.
Doctors normally do complete blood counts. This is a procedure done to evaluate the composition of blood. Red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets are the components of blood. Through this procedure, the doctor is able to see whether or not the individual has the correct amount of these cells. The normal amount of white blood cells is 4500-10,000 per micro liter. If the cells are more than these, it could indicate any of the following; an infection, inflammation, cancer, allergy, a urn on a tissue, stress, intense physical activity, use of certain medications that cause an elevated white blood cell count such as anti-seizure drugs or bone marrow disease.
Elevated white blood cell count cancer is the most common situation. When one has cancer, it leads to an increase in the multiplication of cells at an abnormal rate. The cells that are mostly affected are the neutrophils, a type of white blood cells. Leukemia also leads to an elevated white blood cell count since it is cancer that affects the bone marrow leading to production of a lot of white blood cells. These abnormalities in the blood lead to massive production of white blood cells.
In most cases elevated white blood cell cancer can be controlled by chemotherapy, where radiation energy is used to fight the cancer. If the treatment works, the white blood cell count goes down and within a period of time it approaches the normal level.
Polycythemia vera is yet another cause of elevated white blood cell count. It is a condition that leads to production of many red blood cells by the bone marrow. It is also accompanied by a gene mutation. The gene that mutates is known as JAK2. This leads to consequent production of a lot of white blood cells. This condition is also in the category of elevated white blood cell count cancer conditions.
Another condition under elevated white blood cell count cancer is myelofibrosis. This is a condition that leads to impaired function of the bone marrow since it gets replaced with a saclike structure. In the initial phase, there is inflammation. This is what leads to increased production of white blood cells. This condition is related to cancer since impairment of bone marrow function may sometimes lead to leukemia which is cancer of the bone marrow.