Leukemia

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What is Leukemia?

Leukaemia is a type of cancer that forms in the blood. Bone marrow is where blood cells are formed. The disease is characterized by the uncontrolled growth of blood cells, usually white blood cells in the bone marrow. Leukaemia cells crowd out and replace normal blood and marrow cells.

There are different types of leukaemia and it is important to identify each as treatment and prognosis differ widely. There are 4 main types of leukaemia, which are acute or chronic, and myeloid or lymphocytic:
- Acute lymphocytic leukaemia (ALL) – This is the most common form of childhood leukaemia. It can spread to your lymph nodes and central nervous system.
- Acute myelogenous leukaemia (AML) – This is one of the most common forms for adults.
- Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) – This is the other most common form of young adult leukaemia. Some kinds of CLL will be stable for years and won’t need treatment. But with others, your body isn’t able to create normal blood cells, and you’ll need treatment.
- Chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML) – With this form, you might not have noticeable symptoms. You might not be diagnosed with it until you have a routine blood test. People who are 65 years old and older have a higher risk of this type.

The symptoms of leukaemia generally depend on the type of leukaemia, how quickly it grows and at what stage the disease is diagnosed. Many of the symptoms of leukaemia don’t become apparent until a large number of normal blood cells are crowded out by abnormal cancer cells. Symptoms can be unspecific such as fever, weight loss and low energy. Others can be such seen on the diagram above.

There are several factors that can increase a person’s risk of getting leukaemia. For example:

Exposure to radiation
Previous exposure to chemotherapy drugs
Exposure to certain chemicals eg. Benzene
Genetic disposition in patients with Down’s syndrome

Possible complications of leukaemia inclusive of:

Serious infections
Severe bleeding (haemorrhage)
Thickened blood from large numbers of leukaemia cells

Possible long-term complications from leukaemia or the treatment can include:

Heart and lung problems
Problems with the ability to have children in the future
Bone problems such as thinning of bones (osteoporosis)

Diagnosis

There are several factors that can increase a person’s risk of getting leukaemia. For example,

Blood Tests

By looking at a sample of your blood, a doctor can determine if you have abnormal levels of red or white blood cells or platelets which may suggest leukaemia

Cytogenetic

Is involves testing samples of bone marrow, tissue, or blood, to identify the changes in chromosomes.

Bone Narrow Test

A doctor may recommend a procedure to remove a sample of bone marrow from your hipbone. The bone marrow is removed using a long, thin needle. The sample is sent to a laboratory to look for leukaemia cells. Specialised tests of your leukaemia cells may reveal certain characteristics that are used to determine your treatment options.

Molecular Tests

Are the test that checks for certain genes, proteins, or other molecules in a sample of tissue, blood, or other body fluid as well as certain changes in a gene or chromosome.

Leukaemia Treatments

Treatment method depends on the type of leukaemia and can be treated with any treatment method below:

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is a major form of treatment for leukaemia. Chemotherapy drugs are given to destroy cancer cells or impede their ability to grow and reproduce.

Amputation

A type of treatment that uses the body’s immune system to fight cancer by stimulating the immune system to help it do its job more effectively.

Targeted Therapy

Targeted therapy directs drugs or other specially created substances (e.g., immune system proteins developed in the lab) to attack cancer cells. Targeted therapy may be used alone or in combination with other treatments, such as chemotherapy.

Stem Cell Transplant

A procedure in which you will be given healthy stem cells to replace your diseased stem cells. These stem cells can be obtained from your own stem cells (Autologous transplantation) or from a donor (Allogeneic transplantation).

Prognosis

The stages of leukaemia relate generally to a patient’s prognosis, mainly in those patients who are diagnosed in early stages tend to have better outcomes. Nevertheless, the stage of the condition alone cannot predict a patient’s outcome with any degree of certainty, and furthermore, there is a wide range of outcomes for patients with the same stage of leukaemia.

There are many factors to consider that affect an individual’s chance of recovery, including: