Very often persons without any disease symptoms whatsoever are diagnosed with chronic myeloid Leukemia during a routine blood testing. Unlike the acute forms of Leukemia, the chronic form develops an increased number of white blood cells which can still work normally in spite of their high rate of division. This aspect is responsible of the mild onset of the disease but the negative impact is due to the impossible stopping of the white cell production.
The most effective treatment in these cases is a bone marrow transplant that still implicates risks that make it inaccessible to many of the Leukemia patients. A series of other different therapy methods are available that mostly implicate high challenges in deciding upon the right one.
The increased production of immunity white blood cells is caused by an abnormal chromosome called Philadelphia that allows the bone marrow to produce irregular cells with a very rapid multiplication rate inside the bloodstream. Most of the chronic myeloid patients are taken by surprise by diagnose as they have no clinical manifestations.
The actual development of the disease is mostly unknown but physicians usually use the number of white blood cells to predict the further course of the Leukemia; a further identification of abnormal cells inside the bone marrow has a negative prognosis. Another important clinical sign is the increase of some organ's size (especially spleen) due to an accumulation of white cells inside their tissues.
The most efficient treatment is the injection of healthy cells from a compatible donor inside the bone marrow. It has the highest chances of curing the patients but also the most many side-effects. The second therapy method is the targeted therapy with Gleevec but its curative potential is not yet well established as it has been available only since 2001. A treatment way with benefic results until this time is the immune sustaining Interferon. Other possible cures are in course of development but are not yet approved.
Patients requesting a treatment for Leukemia always expect to be cured after the therapy. The most efficient treatment is the bone marrow transplant with also the most high risks and side-effects. Other possible cures are still in process of experimentation and their capacity to provide a definitive cure is unknown. A series of years are required to determine their exact benefit.
A patient choosing to undergo a bone marrow transplant must be matched with an available donor and take a cure with immuno depressives who may cause a series of infections due to the decreased capacity of defense of the organism. A patient must be well informed about the risk and the cure statistics before choosing to suffer a transplant. This therapy is the most appropriate for young patients but is not recommended for elder persons with other pathological conditions.
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Treatment
Leukemia has two major types: acute and chronic. In what concerns acute leukemia, there are two forms: if leukemia involves lymphocytes, we are dealing with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and if it involves myeloid cells, is called acute myelogenous leukemia. Depending on the particular cell that has become malignant, there can be many different types of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and acute myelogenous leukemia.It was seen that chronic leukemia affects primarily the myeloid cells in the bone marrow. This is called chronic myelogenous leukemia, and is found mostly in adults, but children and teenagers can develop it too.We must mention that there exists a disorder of the bone marrow known as myelodysplastic syndrome. Often called a pre-leukemia syndrome because patients with it have a significantly increased risk of developing leukemia, this syndrome is often associated with low blood cell counts and increased requirements for transfusions.
Allogeneic bone marrow stem cell transplantation is used to treat a variety of childhood leukemias or cancers and myelodysplastic syndrome that involve the cells within the bone marrow. In this transplant, there are used another person's bone marrow cells to restore bone marrow after high dose chemotherapy and radiation therapy.As an advantage of an allogeneic transplant over an autologous transplant we can mention the "graft-versus-leukemia effect". The donor's healthy bone marrow kills residual leukemia cells, and in this way decreases the patient's chance of relapse.As a disadvantage of an allogeneic bone marrow stem cell transplant we can mention the risk of graft-versus-host disease. This happens when the other person's bone marrow attacks the recipient's body. In this way, there appears a disease that affects the skin, liver and many other organs. In this case, therapy with immunosuppressive drugs is needed.
When a matched donor is available, there can be performed transplantation for high-risk leukemia patients in first remission. In very high-risk patients, like those with leukemia who fail to achieve first remission with chemotherapy, there can be done an unrelated donor transplant as soon as remission is achieved. As eligible we can mention infants with leukemia, children with high-risk lymphoblastic leukemia and children with acute myelogenous leukemia. Also, children with myelodysplastic syndrome are eligible for transplant as soon as the diagnosis is established.
Many children with acute leukemias whose leukemia has relapsed can have bone marrow stem cell transplantation. Transplantation can be from related donors like brothers, sisters, parents, and occasionally more distant relatives such as cousins and grandparents.Also, transplantation can be from matched unrelated donors, including umbilical cord blood.In what concerns children with chronic myelogenous leukemia who cannot be put into complete remission with drugs, they should undergo a transplant as early as possible in the course of the disease.
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