Final answer:
A translocation can lead to leukemia due to the alteration of genes that regulate blood cell growth and differentiation, particularly affecting the hematopoietic cells in the bone marrow. Chromosome translocations, like the one seen in chronic myelogenous leukemia, alter the control of white blood cell production, leading to overproliferation specific to the hematopoietic system and not affecting tissues such as the lungs.
Step-by-step explanation:
A translocation can cause leukemia rather than cancer in different tissues such as the lung due to the specific impact on the genes that regulate blood cell growth and differentiation. Genetic translocations involve the rearrangement of parts between nonhomologous chromosomes, which can lead to the alteration of genes that are essential for regulating the cell cycle and apoptosis in hematopoietic cells or leukocytes. Since leukemia is a cancer that affects blood cells - typically starting in the bone marrow and involving an irrational production of abnormal leukocytes - a translocation that impacts these cell types can directly lead to leukemia. In the case of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), a specific translocation is known to occur between chromosomes 9 and 22, creating the so-called Philadelphia chromosome which produces a new gene that encodes for an abnormal protein that leads to the uncontrolled proliferation of white blood cells. This event is specific to hematopoietic cells which is why it causes leukemia. Lung tissues or other solid organs do not have the same response to this specific genetic change as they have different cellular functions and oncogenic pathways. Moreover, leukocytes have normal properties such as tissue invasion and displacement to distant sites, unlike lung cells; hence, when these cells become malignant in leukemia, they don't require additional mutations for metastasis like solid tumors do.