Childhood leukemia - cancer of white blood cells, the most common form of cancer in children and adolescents. Leukemia is characterized by abnormally high levels of multiplication leukocytes in the bone marrow, causing suffering immunity, increased risk of infections and other disorders.
Leukemia - an ordeal for any child, but it is worth noting that often the children manage to overcome this terrible illness and fully recover.
Risk factors
Today, doctors are not able to answer the question, what exactly is the reason for the development of childhood leukemia. However, the presence of certain factors certainly increase the chances of occurrence of this disease. However, there is always the presence of risk factors leading to this terrible diagnosis. In fact, in the history of the majority of children suffering from leukemia, known risk factors have been identified.
Development of leukemia may provoke the following states:
- Hereditary diseases, such as Li-Fraumenti syndrome, Down syndrome and Klinefelter's syndrome.
- Hereditary problems in the immune system, such as ataxia teleangioektaticheskaya.
- Diagnosing leukemia siblings, especially pronounced I have identical twins
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.
- Powerful radiation exposure, chemotherapy, or prolonged contact with chemicals (benzene, solvents, and so on).
- Immunosuppression induced, for example, transplantation of organs.
Even with a low degree of danger, the children who have celebrated at least one of the above risk factors, it is recommended to have regular medical examinations. For effective treatment, it is extremely important to identify the disease in its earliest stages of development.
Types of childhood leukemia
Almost all kinds of childhood leukemia are acute, that is, the disease develops rapidly with pronounced symptoms. A tiny part of the cases is chronic.
In the typology of childhood leukemia following types:
- Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), usually in three of four cases in children diagnosed precisely this kind of leukemia.
- Acute myelocytic leukemia (AML) after ALL is the most common type of childhood leukemia.
- Leukemia mixed origin - a rare form of leukemia, with its characteristic features and lymphoblastoma acute and acute myelocytic leukemia.
- Chronic granulocyte leukemia. This type occurs in children is extremely rare.
- Chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Also atypical form of childhood leukemia.
- Children myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML). It is a rare type of leukemia, do not belong to the acute or chronic forms, occurs in children up to 4 years.
Signs and symptoms
The presence of symptoms characteristic of leukemia usually encourages parents to show the child's doctor. Timely treatment for medical reveals the disease at the earliest stages of development, which in turn determines the higher efficiency of treatment.
Symptoms of leukemia begin to appear in suppressing healthy cells atypical leukocytes.
The most common symptoms of leukemia:
- Pale skin and constant feeling of fatigue
- Infection and fever
- Predisposition to bleeding and bruising
- Great weakness and apathy
- Breath holding
- Cough
It also featured leukemia include:
- Pain in the joints and bones
- The severity and bloating, swelling of face, hands, neck and groin
- Swelling in the area of the collarbone
- Sudden weight loss and lack of appetite
- Headaches, seizures, problems with coordination and visual impairment
- Vomiting
- Skin irritation
- Problems with gums
Diagnostics
In order to establish an accurate diagnosis, experts are studying medical records of the child, and conduct a comprehensive medical examination. Diagnosis watering can and its subsequent classification of the type of the disease placed on the basis of the results of tests and medical tests.
At the initial stage of the survey, especially the analysis of the blood, which allows to set the level of white blood cells in the blood and to trace the mechanism of their reproduction.
- Taking bone marrow aspiration and biopsy (a sample is taken from the pelvic bone) is performed to further confirm the diagnosis of leukemia.
- Lumbar or lumbar puncture allows to establish the presence of leukemic cells in the spinal cord and brain.
- Specialist pathologist examines blood samples under a microscope. Samples of the puncture of the spinal cord are also checked by a pathologist on the number of blood-forming cells and fat.
To determine the type of leukemia is carried out a number of additional analyzes. The analysis results allow a high degree of probability suggest reaction to the medication and other medical procedures.
Some of the tests shall be repeated, after the start of treatment to determine the effectiveness of the procedures and to understand the reactions of the organism.
Treatment of leukemia in children
Frank talk with your child's doctor and medical staff, do not hesitate to ask questions, to delve into all the details related to the treatment of your child. Generally, treatment is given based on the type of leukemia, but also takes into account other factors, general health status, allergies and so forth.
There has been an increase in the proportion of cases successfully overcome childhood leukemia. Specialized children's cancer centers provide a full range of medical services required to effectively combat the terrible disease. It is worth noting that childhood cancers respond to treatment better than similar condition in adults.
Before the actual treatment of leukemia, some children need special procedures aimed at reducing the risk of further complications. For example, changes in blood cells can provoke severe bleeding, infection, or development of insufficient supply of oxygen to the tissues. Typically, in such cases, antibiotics are appointed
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, Blood transfusions or taking other anti-infective action.
The main method of treatment of childhood leukemia remains chemotherapy. The child is assigned to oral chemotherapy, combined with the injection of drugs into a vein, muscle tissue or into the cerebrospinal fluid. To prevent recurrence of chemotherapy
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conduct courses with a break of two to three years.
In the treatment of childhood leukemia and is often used so-called targeted therapy. This type of therapy, the principle of which is different from conventional chemotherapy, sent directly to a specific part of the leukemic cells. Targeted therapy is really effective in certain types of childhood leukemia and does not have pronounced side effects.
Among other treatment of leukemia in children is to provide radiation therapy. Radiotherapy aims to kill cancer cells and destroy the tumor. This type of therapy is used for treatment and prevention of further spread of leukemia. Surgery is rarely used in the treatment of leukemia in children.
If the ineffectiveness of the main methods of treatment, doctors resorted to stem cell transplantation
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. Transplantation of hematopoietic cells following exposure of the whole organism and the high-rate chemotherapy, which in turn aim at the destruction of the existing bone marrow.
