TriangleFOR PATIENTS · SOURCE READING
Smoking, previous chemotherapy treatment, and exposure to radiation may increase the risk of AML.
Source: Acute Myeloid Leukemia Treatment (PDQ®)–Patient Version, National Cancer Institute.
Source updated: May 16, 2025 · Captured 2026-09-09.
Selected source text with whitespace normalised. This Triangle page is not an NCI PDQ summary. Independent clinical review is pending.
AML is caused by certain changes to the way blood stem cells function, especially how they grow and divide into new cells. A risk factor is anything that increases the chance of getting a disease. Some risk factors for AML, like smoking, can be changed. However, risk factors also include things people cannot change, like their genetics, getting older, and their health history.
There are many risk factors for AML, but many do not directly cause cancer. Instead, they increase the chance of DNA damage in cells that may lead to AML. Learn more about how cancer develops at What Is Cancer?
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Having one or more of these risk factors does not mean that you will get AML. Many people with risk factors never develop AML, while others with no known risk factors do.
Possible risk factors for AML include:
being male
older age
smoking
having had treatment with chemotherapy or radiation therapy in the past
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being exposed to radiation in the environment (such as nuclear radiation) or to the chemical benzene
having a personal history of a blood disorder such as myelodysplastic syndrome
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Talk with your doctor if you think you may be at risk.
Preserved source evidence · Independent clinical review pending · Not medical advice