Leukemia is a type of cancer. Cancer is a group of many related diseases. All cancers begin in cells, which make up blood and other tissues. Normally, cells grow and divide to form new cells as the body needs them. When cells grow old, they die, and new cells take their place. Sometimes this orderly process goes wrong. New cells form when the body does not need them, and old cells do not die when they should. Leukemia is cancer that begins in blood cells. In people with leukemia, the bone marrow produces abnormal white blood cells. The abnormal cells are leukemia cells. At first, leukemia cells function almost normally. In time, they may crowd out normal white blood cells, red blood cells, platelets. This makes it hard for blood to do its work.
Types of leukemia
The types of leukemia are grouped by how quickly the disease develops and gets worse. Leukemia is either chronic (gets worse slowly) or acute (gets worse quickly):
Common symptoms of leukemia: are fevers or night sweats, frequent infections, feeling weak or tired, headache, bleeding and bruising easily (bleeding gums, purplish patches in the skin, or tiny red spots under the skin) pain in the bones or joints, swelling or discomfort in the abdomen (from an enlarged spleen) swollen lymph nodes, especially in the neck or armpit, weight loss etc. : Such symptoms are not sure signs of leukemia. An infection or another problem also could cause these symptoms. Anyone with these symptoms should see a doctor as soon as possible. Only a doctor can diagnose and treat the problem.
Diagnosis of Leukemia
If a person has symptoms that suggest leukemia, the doctor may do a physical exam and ask about the patient’s personal and family medical history. The doctor also may order laboratory tests, especially blood tests.
Advances in Treatment of Blood Cancer
Many advances have been made in the treatment of blood cancers in the past 30 years. Today, most types of lymphomas, leukemias and multiple myeloma can be effectively treated with chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Stem cell transplants are being done with increasing frequency across the country, and newer treatments, such as biological therapies, are being tested.
Stem cell transplant
Used more frequently to treat lymphoma and leukemia, this procedure gives very high doses of chemotherapy and/or irradiation and then “rescues” the patient with an infusion of stem cells from the bone marrow or peripheral blood. This procedure has tremendous risks, including death, and tends to be more successful in younger patients and when the disease is in an early stage. Because stem cell transplant for blood cancers is a specialized procedure, a transplant candidate should look for a hospital that has extensive experience treating his or her specific type of cancer and that performs stem cell transplants regularly.
There are three possibilities: autologous transplant, allogeneic transplant and syngeneic transplant. In an autologous transplant, the cancer patient donates his or her own stem cells for the transplant.
An allogeneic transplant is one in which the stem cells are donated by another person whose genetic make-up matches the patient as closely as possible-usually a close relative such as a sibling or parent. Allogeneic transplants using matched unrelated donors are more commonly being performed now, although the transplant has significant risks. In a syngeneic transplant, the marrow is contributed by an identical twin, who is the perfect genetic match for the patient.
Biological therapy
Biological therapy uses special immune system cells and proteins to stimulate the body’s immune system to kill cancer cells. Biological agents such as interferons, interleukins, monoclonal antibodies, tumor necrosis factors and colony-stimulating factors are natural substances found in the body that help alter the way the immune system reacts to cancer. Researchers are now able to create reproductions of some of these biological agents in laboratories, imitating the natural immune agents. These agents are used to augment the anti-tumor immune response of the patient.
This type of treatment may be administered in a hospital and requires extensive follow-up. Side effects can be severe. The most common reactions include severe flu-like symptoms, fatigue, confusion, problems with heart rhythms, rashes and depression.
Long term and Late effects of treatment:
Long term effects, such as fertility outcomes, are medical problems that may occur in people following certain cancer treatment. Late effects are secondary conditions that arise following certain cancer treatments, such as leukemia secondary to certain chemoradiotherapies for lymphoma or myeloma.
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