From Diagnosis to Recovery – Beating Leukemia Together
Leukemia is common in children and has a congenital appurtenance. However, certain forms are widespread in adults.
Early stages of Leukemia can be effectively treated and managed. In children, it is highly curable, offering long–term survival years.
What is Leukemia?
It is a disorder of the blood cells in which white blood cells are overproduced.
The large amount of white blood cells inhibits the production of other blood cells by narrowing the space in the bone marrow.
Types of Leukemia
- • Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) – It is a condition when the bone marrow starts to produce white blood cells that are not mature and also in excess amounts. The abnormal cells lose their functionality. It is a highly progressive cancer, spreads rapidly. It is found mainly in children due to some genetic predisposition.
- • Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) – It is a type of blood cancer in which immature blood cells are formed due to a mutation in myeloid cells in the bone marrow responsible for the formation of RBC, Platelets, and WBC. It is usually found in elderly people.
- • Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) – SIt is a slow-progressing blood cancer. It remains asymptomatic for many years. It is characterized by the overproduction of mature white blood cells that have abnormal functioning. From the bone marrow, it spreads into the nearby lymph nodes, causing lymph node swelling.
It usually occurs in elderly people. - • Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) – It is the overproduction of mature myeloid cells, but they show abnormal functionality. It is a slow-progressing disease the old and middle-aged people.
It is often linked to the Philadelphia chromosome (BCR-ABL gene fusion).
Risk Factors for Developing Leukemia
- • Previous cancer or cancer treatment – Any cancer or cancer treatment, like radiation, chemo, or other therapy, increases the risk of genetic mutations.
- • Smoking – various cancerous elements in the cigarette increase the risk of myelogenous leukemia.
- • Hazardous chemicals – exposure to harmful chemicals like gasoline, asbestos, etc., triggers leukemia.
- • Genetic disorders – genetic disorders are the main reason for the development of leukemia in children.
- • Down syndrome, Li-Fraumeni syndrome, and Fanconi anemia, etc.
- • Chronic blood disorders – Bone marrow disorders (myelodysplasia), Polycythemia Vera, increase the risk of leukemia.
- • Family history of leukemia – If a member of the blood relations has blood cancer.
- • Smoking – increases the risk of myelogenous leukemia
Symptoms of Leukemia
- • Fatigue
- • Difficulty in breathing
- • Fever
- • Night sweats
- • Persistent infections
- • Skin discoloration
- • Weight loss
- • Bone or joint pain
- • Swelling in lymph nodes
- • Easy bruising & bleeding
- • Skin rashes
The Treatment for Leukemia
- • Chemotherapy – Chemotherapy is the primary treatment for leukemia, offering long-term survival and cure.
- • Induction therapy – This is highly intense therapy to reduce the number of rapidly dividing cancerous cells in the blood and the bone marrow.The cytotoxic drugs, like Doxorubicin or cytarabine, are administered intravenously in intermittent cycles.
- • Consolidation therapy – It is the next step, in which the anticancer drugs are administered adjuvant to other therapies like hormone therapy, targeted therapy to eliminate the cancer cells left after the induction therapy.
- • Maintenance therapy – This is the last phase of chemotherapy to prevent the return or relapse of the cancer after the complete remission of the cancer cells. It uses lowered doses of the drugs and is less aggressive.It may last from weeks to months, depending on the type of leukemia. It forms a critical component in the treatment of childhood leukemia.
- • Prophylaxis treatment – Blood cancer rapidly spreads to the central nervous system (brain and spine). To prevent its spread, the anticancer medicines are administered into the circulating fluid in the spine.
The Anticancer Drugs for Leukemia Include –
- • Cytarabine – Cytarzer
- • Methotrexate – Trexazer
- • Daunorubicin – Daunozer
- • Doxorubicin Hydrochloride – Dorucin
- • Etoposide – Posiact
Targeted therapy
Targeted therapy drugs are used to target specific cancer proteins. It is widely used in myelogenous leukemia (CML) caused by the Philadelphia chromosome (BCR-ABL gene fusion).
The targeted therapy drugs target the mutated chromosome, significantly inhibiting cancer cell production at the source.
- • Imatinib (Imatikast) – First generation
- • Dasatinib (Dasakast) – Second generation
Immunotherapy
The monoclonal antibodies modify the T cell activity to attack cancer cells in the body.
Radiation therapy
It is not the primary treatment for leukemia. However, it is used to shrink enlarged or swollen lymph nodes or the spleen to prepare for stem cell replacement.
Stem cell (bone marrow) transplant
It is the administration of healthy stem cells into the blood. These stem cells travel to the bone marrow and produce new blood cells.
Before the infusion, the damaged bone marrow is destroyed by a high dose of chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
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