Why do patients with leukemia tend to bleed easily?

Patients with leukemia often experience easy bleeding due to a deficiency of platelets, a condition known as thrombocytopenia. In leukemia, abnormal proliferation of white blood cells can occur, which may disrupt the normal production of platelets in the bone marrow. Since platelets are crucial for blood clotting and maintaining hemostasis, their deficiency leads to an increased risk of bleeding easily from minor injuries, as well as spontaneous bruising and prolonged bleeding from cuts.

While the abnormal increase of white blood cells in leukemia can contribute to various symptoms and complications, the direct link to bleeding relates primarily to the impact on platelet levels. The production imbalance and potential crowding out of normal blood cell precursors by the proliferating leukemic cells impair the body's ability to produce sufficient platelets, thus directly causing the bleeding tendencies seen in these patients.