Treatment Of Acute Myeloid Leukemia

neoadjuvant chemotherapy, the tumors are very aggressive and associated with a poor prognosis as well as a

There are many different type of cancers, there are also many different types of treatments. One of the most known types of treatments would be chemotherapy. Chemotherapy can be used for a wide range of different types of cancers and diseases, and each of the different types of cancers or diseases require a different group, and sometimes order, of chemicals to properly treat the cancer or disease. These chemicals include: Alkylating agents, Antimetabolites, Anthracyclines, Topoisomerase inhibitors, mitotic inhibitors, corticosteroids, and more. Each of these drugs previously listed have its own cancer type(s) or disease(s) that it can assist in treating. Some of these cancers include: Leukemia, Lymphoma, Hodgkin disease, multiple

The defining goal is to eliminate all evidence of the cancer cells with the use of cytotoxic agents. Chemotherapeutic agents are chosen because of their ability to interfere with oncologic cell division. The treatment of ALL involves 3 phases: remission induction, consolidation, and maintenance therapy. Pediatric patients with ALL are often given 8 or more months of intensive chemotherapy. This is often followed by maintenance therapy of two or more years (Gedaly-Duff et al., 2006). Most treatment protocols use systemic chemotherapy with or without radiotherapy (McCance & Huether, 2010).  According to a study conducted by McDonald & Mc Carthy (2005), success of chemotherapy and remission depends on “aggressive induction chemotherapy followed by delayed intensification and maintenance therapy, p. 809.”

Transition: Now that I have talked about the basics regarding Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, let’s talk about the new approaches we are taking to combat this disease.

Leukemia broadly describes conditions that affect erythropoiesis in the bone marrow, lymphatic system, and spleen. As with all other cancers, leukemia begins from the mutation of DNA in certain cells. Classifications of leukemias are based on the age of onset and the leukocyte involved (Lewis et al. 2014, 665). The most common leukemia is chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), accounting for approximately 30% of cases in the United States (Copstead and Banasik 2013, 222). The normal function of the bone marrow, spleen, and liver becomes interrupted by the invasion of malignant lymphocytes (B cells); since the B cells are functionally inactive, a patient becomes more susceptible to infections. The sluggish progression of CLL unfortunately leads to late diagnoses and poor prognosis (Lewis et al. 2014, 665). Patients that become symptomatic in later stages will experience fatigue, weight loss, anorexia, and an increased susceptibility to infection, due to abnormal antibody production. Patient specific factors such as age, disease progression, and medication side effects will determine the course of treatment (Copstead and Banasik 2013, 223). The fragile state of patients with CLL requires continuous examination of drug therapy and interventions to prevent further complications.

Prophylaxis simply means prevention. Leukemia cells can be in the mind and spine. Chemotherapy in a vein cannot break to run them. In this way, chemotherapy is introduced into the fluid that runs around the mind and spine (The cerebrospinal fluid, CSF). The chemotherapy medication is generally methotrexate.

They may be applied to bloodstream or directly to a cancer site. Chemotherapy typically refers to the destruction of cancer cells, however some may include antibiotics or other medications to cure an illness or infection. Often, chemo is used alongside other treatments. Physical activity is important and it’s been found that patients who regularly exercise after chemotherapy treatment have a much lower risk of cancer recurrence. Chemotherapy generally has 5 goals; total remission, combination therapy, delay/prevent reoccurrence, slow down cancer progression and relieve cancer symptoms. The objective is to prevent cell division using cytotoxic drugs, to target cancer cells food source, enzymes and hormones that they need in order to grow, and to stop the growth of new blood vessels that supply the tumor. Patients can either receive monotherapy where they’re just given one drug, or combination where the patient receives more than one drug. These courses of chemo can be just a one day treatment or last for a few weeks, it depends on the type and stage of the cancer basically how advanced it

The treatment for ALL occurs in sequential blocks of therapy, this therapy consists of both initial and delayed aggressive phases of therapy (induction, consolidation, and delayed intensification) with an intervening less intense phase of treatment known as interim maintenance. After the completion of induction, consolidation, and maintenance, which generally takes between 6 and 9 months, there is a prolonged maintenance therapy that, on children's oncology group protocols, lasts approximately 2 years for girls and 3 years for boys (Alperstein, Boren & McNeer, 2015).

Specialists are taking a gander at approaches to bring down the danger of MDS in patients who need to have chemotherapy (chemo) and radiation. In a few malignancies, specialists may attempt to abstain from utilizing the medications that are more prone to prompt MDS. Be that as it may, the reasonable advantages of treating genuine growths with chemo and radiation must be adjusted against the little risk of getting MDS years after the fact.

Stem cell transplant combined with chemotherapy in high doses is a form of treatment, which gives a human body infected with multiple myeloma a chance at remission, which will last a longer time than other remissions. High doses of chemotherapy are very effective in killing the multiple myeloma cells. However, a side effect of chemotherapy is the destruction of hematopoetic stem cells. Stem cell transplant is to replace these cells, which are very important in the human body. There are two types of stem cell transplants. Allogenic stem cell transplant and autogous stem cell transplant is advisable for patients who chose to undergo this form of treatment to have their stem cells harvested prior to the treatment. This will ensure that after the destruction of the hematopoetic stem cells due to the chemotherapy, the patient has available stem cells that doctors transplant into their body when the need arises. Chemotherapy comes with some side effects some severe and others minor. The slight side effects are nausea and vomiting. The worst-case scenario side effects are organ damage (Jones,

13. Therapeutic management of leukemia consist of intravenous therapy and intrathecal by administering the chemotherapeutic agents directly into the spinal cord

Therefore, dose and duration of treatment is limited, which in turn limits the amount of normal and tumor cell death. A second mechanism is the suppression of cancer cells for variable periods of time without cell death. This mechanism is referred to as remission. Unfortunately, the cancer can return at any time, and it is sometimes stronger. Here another limitation is introduced. Some tumor cells can develop resistance to a particular chemical agent, or several chemical agents, limiting the types of chemotherapeutic agents available for effective use. The last mechanism is cell differentiation, which helps the immune system learn to recognize and fight tumor cells (1).

Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia is a scary disease. The term “acute” means the disease can quickly spread and progress quickly and can prove fatal in months if left untreated. “Lymphocytic” simply means that it develops from immature forms of lymphocytes. Also known as Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, or ALL for short, it is a type of cancer that starts from the early form of white blood cells called lymphocytes in the bone marrow. ALL is the most common form of cancer in children, though adults can get it as well. For children, treatment results in a good chance of a cure. Adults have a significantly smaller chance of a cure with ALL. ALL generally invades the blood very quickly and has the potential to spread to other body parts such as the spleen,

Chemotherapy is given in cycles a treatment period followed by a recovery period, then another treatment period and so on. The drug enters the blood stream and destroys leukemia cells throughout the body. However, they cannot reach the brain and spinal cord, because of a protective network of blood vessels that keep foreign substances from entering the central nervous system. In certain cases doctors need to inject the drug directly into the fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. (Health a to z, 20)

There are two types of leukemia in children; acute and chronic. Acute is fast growing leukemia. Within acute leukemia are three categories: acute lymphocytic (lymphoblastic) leukemia (ALL), acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), and hybrid or mixed lineage leukemia. Acute lymphocytic (lymphoblastic) leukemia (ALL) is the most common type of childhood leukemia and develop from early forms of lymphocytes, also known as white blood cells. Specifically, three out of four childhood leukemias are ALL (About Childhood Leukemia). Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) starts from the myeloid cells that create blood forming cells such as white blood cells (except for lymphocytes), red blood cells, and platelets (About Childhood Leukemia). Hybrid or mixed lineage leukemia are rare forms of childhood leukemia, but can be treated like ALL and AML. On the other end of the spectrum is chronic, or slow growing, leukemia. Chronic leukemia is difficult to treat and are more commonly found in adults than children. There are two types of chronic leukemia: chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is not commonly