Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

Leukemia is a malignant disease or cancer of the bone marrow and blood. It is characterized by the uncontrolled accumulation of blood cells (American Cancer Society, 216). Leukemia is divided into four categories: myelogenous or lymphocytic, each of which can be acute or chronic (Medicine Net, 2015). The true cause is unknown but studies have shown things like exposure to high-energy radiation and harmful lifestyle choices such as drinking and smoking increase your

As mentioned above in section 1a, investigational drugs can be extremely costly, sometimes priced at over $1000 per pill. Therefore, the economic impact of developmental treatment use on patients may vary based on two key factors: the drug companies and the insurance companies. As discussed earlier,

Leukemia is cancerous disease that starts in blood-forming tissue such as the bone marrow and causes large numbers of blood cells to be produced and enter the blood-stream (National Cancer Institute, 2008, para. 1). It is one of many complicated cancer diseases that affect all ages and have very negative outcomes if not treated properly, and on time. Within the disease are several different types that affect according to how quickly the disease develops and attacks the body. It could be classified as chronic leukemia, which has a slow progress of getting worse or acute leukemia which usually gets worse quickly. The types of leukemia also can be grouped based on the white blood cell that is affected (National Cancer Institute , 2008, p. 1).

Myelodysplastic disorders (MDS) are conditions that happen when the blood-forming cells within the bone marrow are harmed. This harm prompts low quantities of one or more sorts of platelets. Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a group of diseases of the blood characterized by a defect in the bone marrow that produces abnormally or insufficient blood red, blood cells white and platelets. MDS is also called pre-leukemia because, over time, can develop into leukemia become acute and should not be confused with Myeloproliferative syndromes.

Recently, there has been a debate about the high prescription drug prices in the United States. Accounting for 9.7% of the national health expenditure, $329.2 billion was spent on prescription medications ($931 per person) in 2011 (Linton, 2014). So what exactly is the average American getting with their $931? Well, because there is an extraordinary amount of time, effort, and energy that goes into creating, manufacturing, and distributing a new drug, it’s no wonder the prices are so high. But what other costs are folded into the prices of your prescribed medications? This review looks beyond just the research and development costs needed to take a new drug from idea to shelf by examining several journals and other credible, secondary sources, to shed some light on how much pharmaceutical companies are spending to develop, advertise, and sell their drugs.

The age-adjusted incidence of acute myeloid leukemia is 3.6 per 100000 persons per year, with a median age of 66 years at diagnosis. Whereas the outcome for patients with AML who are less than 60 years of age has improved over the past several decades, the major reasons for failure are primary refractoriness of the disease to initial chemotherapy or failure to maintain the complete state of remission.. Some patients have residual leukemic cells in their marrow even after intensive treatment. This is referred to as “refractory leukemia.” There are other patients who have a return of leukemia cells in the marrow and a decrease in normal blood cells after achieving a remission. This is referred to as “relapsed leukemia.” (Leukemia and Lymphoma Society 2011)

The last two leukemias are similar CML and CLL. Chronic leukemias are a slow spreading cancers. They mostly affect adults. This leukemia can be in your system for a few years before it is found or is diagnosable.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a form of cancer that begins in newly formed blood cells. This process begins in the soft, inner part of the bones called bone marrow. AML has many names, such as: acute myelocytic leukemia, acute myelogenous leukemia, acute granulocytic leukemia, and acute non-lymphocytic leukemia. The word “acute” describes the disease’s rapid progression. In most cases, this disease happens very quickly, giving the patients months to live if treatment is not started in time. The most common symptom is fatigue, but someother patients also have fever, bone pain, lethargy, shortness of breath, pale skin, frequent infections, and unusual bleeding. However, it is highly common for patients to suffer more with fatigue than any other symptom.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is characterized by an increase in the number of myeloid cells in the marrow and an arrest in their maturation.(1) Make sure you use the ASM system for reference citation; I do not believe this format you have is correct. The symptoms of AML are caused by the replacement of normal bone marrow with leukemic cells, which causes a drop in red blood cells, platelets, and normal white blood cells.(2) These symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath, easy bruising and bleeding, and increased risk of infection.(1) Several risk factors and chromosomal abnormalities have been identified. AML progresses rapidly and is typically fatal within weeks or months if left untreated. This disease is a heterogeneous clonal disorder of haemopoietic progenitor cells.(2) These cells lose the ability to differentiate normally and to respond to normal regulators of proliferation.(2) AML has a terrible prognosis, with only 23.8% of patients surviving five years after diagnosis. (3) AML is treated initially with chemotherapy aimed at inducing a remission; patients may go on to receive additional chemotherapy or a hematopoietic stem cell transplant. The majority of patients, despite reaching complete remission with classical chemotherapy, will relapse.(3) The persistence of malignant cells is what causes remission. (3) Acute myeloid leukemia affects both older and younger patients. However, most patients are older than 60 years old, and the prognosis is worse for

Chronic myelocytic (or myelogenous) leukemia (CML) is a rare disease worldwide 2000); however, the innovative advances and successes of CML’s targeted-molecular therapy have kept CML “at the forefront of scientific attention” (Lee 2000). Like other forms of leukemia, CML is a type of cancer that starts in the blood-forming cells of the bone marrow. In particular, CML begins in myeloid stem cells, the cells that differentiate into platelets, red blood cells, and some white blood cells (e.g., granular leukocytes). These cells undergo genetic changes that cause white blood cells to not function normally and divide rapidly. The resulting abnormal leukemia cells build up in the bone marrow and interfere with the production of normal blood cells (platelets, RBCs, and granular leukocytes). Additionally, leukemia cells move into the blood stream and can spread to other organs (e.g., spleen). Unlike acute leukemia, which progresses very quickly, chronic leukemia progresses more slowly and can take a long time before causing health problems (American Cancer Society). According to the American Cancer Society, “one person in 55 will get CML in their lifetime in the United States” (American Cancer Society). The occurrence of the disease increases with age (average age of CML diagnosis: 64 years) and is rarely seen in children. For an unknown reason, slightly more males have CML as compared to females. The one potentially controllable risk factor is exposure to

These cells often cannot function like mature blood cells. Chronic leukemia usually develops more slowly and is a less dramatic illness than acute leukemia. There are two main types of chronic

It can be used after treatment to see if copies of the BCR-ABL gene are still there “if BCR-ABL still there, so leukemia still

Although many of the drugs used now are the same when AML3 was first discovered, we have found better ways of implementing them, and newer drugs to use either to supplement or replace altogether. One such drug is all-trans retinoic acid. all-trans retinoic acid, or ATRA, is a drug that “induces differentiation of leukemic promyelocytes into mature granulocytes. . . (Coombs et al.)”. On its own, ATRA produced complete remission rates of up to 72%, but unfortunately the patients suffered from frequent relapses. Another newer drug implemented in clinical settings was Arsenic Trioxide, or ATO. “ATO was first utilised in APL patients in the early 1990s, and led to a high CR rate with relatively long-term remissions when used as a single agent. In preclinical models, the combination of ATRA and ATO demonstrated synergism in inducing differentiation and apoptosis, allowing for targeted therapy of APL without chemotherapy. (Coombs et al.).” Basically, on their own, both drugs work fairly well, but together they work with each other to kill the leukemic cells. However, this was only in models. They still needed to prove themselves in a clinical environment over a wide range of patients. A group of South Asian cancer centers took the

Leukemia has many different types and those types have subtypes which subdivide into more division. Leukemia is defined as an increase in cancerous white blood cells (WBC’s) which fill the bone marrow and blood stream. I will be focusing on Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) whose mechanism I could not totally understand but will try to explain to the best of my abilities. The T lymphocyte or B lymphocyte is what becomes neoplastic in ALL. Mechanisms of leukemia include chromosome rearrangement creating a Philadelphia chromosome. The growth of the white blood cells is disrupted; hyperplasia occurs in many organs and tissues due to the lymphoblast compiling, which in turn disturb their regular function. In the bone marrow the uninhibited lymphoblast

Did you know that over one third of all cancers for children in the U.S, is Leukemia? Leukemia is one of the most common types of cancer. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society are working on ways to find better cures, and ways than there already are, but could use everyone’s help.