The nurse is precepting a student nurse on leukemia classifications. Which statement by the student nurse reflects an understanding of classifications of leukemia?

  1. “Acute lymphocytic leukemia has an average age of onset of 15 to 39 years.”
  2. “Chronic myelogenous leukemia contains mostly granulocytes in the bone marrow.”
  3. “Chronic myelogenous leukemia has mostly lymphocytes found in the bone marrow.”
  4. “Acute myelogenous leukemia has primarily granulocytes present in the bone marrow.”
Number 2 is correct.
Rationale: Chronic myelogenous leukemia contains mostly granulocytes, not lymphocytes, in the bone marrow, with a typical age of onset in the 40s. Acute lymphocytic leukemia presents with mostly lymphoblasts in the bone marrow. It is the earliest-onset leukemia, appearing before age 15 years. Acute myelogenous leukemia appears after age 50 years, with mostly lymphocytes present in the bone marrow.