Leukemia - it is not a sentence - Treatment

Leukemia Treatment

In most cases, acute leukemia treatment plan involves three steps:

• Induction therapy - at this stage of leukemic cells are destroyed and, if treatment is started promptly and properly matched, remission occurs. Induction therapy usually lasts four weeks and is conducted in a hospital. By the methods of treatment used at this step include chemotherapy and corticosteroids. Patients who have discovered the Philadelphia chromosome, is also appointed reception tyrosine kinase inhibitors;
• Consolidation treatment aimed at the destruction of leukemic cells that may still remain in the patient's body, but in such small numbers that they can not be detected by analysis. If these cells proliferate to allow remission over. At this stage, in addition to chemotherapy may be used therapies such as stem cell transplantation and radiotherapy. Consolidation therapy usually lasts for several months, but in most cases it does not require a permanent stay in the hospital;
• Supportive therapy to prevent the reproduction of the remaining leukemia cells, and involves taking small doses of chemotherapy drugs that have been used at the stage of consolidation therapy. The treatment lasts up to three years, but for most people it does not stop to return to an active life.

In general, we can say that acute leukemia can be cured, but conditionally. If within five years after completion of therapy, relapse does not occur, the patient is considered to be recovered, although we can not completely exclude the possibility that one day the disease will return.

Methods for the treatment of leukemia

Chemotherapy is standard therapy of various kinds of acute and chronic leukemia. Even if it becomes clear that the patient is incurable, in many cases, chemotherapy allows patients to live longer and feel better. Chemotherapy in leukemia usually involves the use of several drugs, since it allows different affect leukemic cells, and not allow them to become resistant to any one drug.

The choice of drug, among others depends on the type and stage of leukemia. Patients may also be administered medicines that prevent infection, bleeding and vomiting, and increased effectiveness of chemotherapeutic agents.

• For the treatment of acute lymphoblastic or lymphocytic leukemia used chemotherapeutic drugs (asparaginase klofarabin, daunorubicin, doxorubicin, methotrexate, vincristine), and corticosteroids (prednisone or dexamethasone).
• In acute myeloid leukemia chemotherapy is usually given to the use of such medicaments as cytarabine, daunorubicin, idarubicin, mitoxantrone.
• Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia may prescribe such drugs for chemotherapy as bendamustine, chlorambucil, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, or fludarabia; corticosteroids (such as prednisone), and drugs based on monoclonal antibodies (e.g., rituximab or alemtuzumab).
• In chronic myelogenous leukemia can be used chemotherapeutic agents (cyclophosphamide or cytarabine), and tyrosine kinase inhibitors (e.g., dasatinib, nilotinib or imatinib).

Blood transfusion

Blood transfusion for leukemia allows the patient to receive the red blood cells, platelets and other blood components. It is necessary in the majority of patients with a particular stage of the treatment, as the disease itself, and chemotherapy drugs, as well as the transplantation of stem cells lead to the fact that the blood significantly reduced the concentration of healthy, well-functioning blood cells.

Typically, patients are not transfused whole blood and its components are only required specific person. Whole blood obtained from a healthy donor, supplied in a laboratory, where it is to chop up ingredients that allows you to use a single dose of blood for transfusion to several people (sometimes - up to four people), and the most efficient use of this valuable resource.

In recent years, the risk of contracting any disease, especially HIV through transfusion has fallen sharply due to the fact that each dose of donated blood is tested for several diseases.

Sometimes blood transfusions cause side effects such as fever, skin rash, fever, nausea, pain in the area where during the procedure the needle has been inserted, back pain, shortness of breath, drop in blood pressure, dark or reddish urine. Usually, they do not speak about serious health problems, but they should immediately inform the medical staff.

Radiation

Radiotherapy is used to kill cancer cells and prevent the spread of leukemia. Sometimes it is used to treat palliantivnogo where chemotherapy is ineffective. There is outdoor and targeted radiotherapy; in the first case are subjected to extensive irradiation areas of the body, the second - only the cancer cells. Both types of radiotherapy Radiotherapy in cancer treatment: irradiation aid   can cause side effects such as reduced levels of key blood cells, due to which increases the likelihood of infection and bleeding, weakness, redness and itching of the skin (and sometimes the skin looks like after a strong sunburn), nausea, vomiting and diarrhea; when directed therapy, these symptoms are usually less severe.

Transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells

In leukemia, can be used two versions of this procedure. If the stem cells are derived from blood or bone marrow of the patient, the procedure is called an autologous transplant, if they are derived from a donor, it is an allogeneic transplant. Donors may be relatives, and strangers sick people. It is very important to the immune markers of donor and recipient are matched, and it is most likely that donors appear close relatives, such as blood brothers and sisters. If some of them can not find a suitable donor, looking for him through the registers of bone marrow donors; today they, in total, includes more than twenty millions of volunteers from around the world.

Stem cell transplant Stem cells: on the edge of scandal   It may be required if the leukemia and / or its treatment (chemotherapy and radiotherapy), disrupted bone marrow. However, this procedure is not for everyone.

Before transplant patients undergoing chemotherapy and / or radiotherapy. Development of new, healthy blood cells usually begins 1-3 weeks after the procedure. At this time, patients are extremely vulnerable to diseases, so many of them are isolated, and they prescribe antibiotics to prevent or treat infections. In addition, during this period regularly conduct blood tests; patients often require blood transfusions, and in some cases, this procedure must be carried out several times.

In addition, in rare cases of leukemia - often, chronic lymphocytic leukemia - may need surgery to remove the spleen and / or lymph nodes.

Side effects of bone marrow transplantation may be nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, oral ulcers, hair loss, bleeding due to a significant reduction of erythrocytes, leukocytes and platelets in the blood, infection, depression Depression - a little more than a bad mood , Infertility, cataracts Cataracts - how to solve the problem completely? , Liver disease, kidney and heart.