Leukemia disease in humans. Blood leukemia - what is it in children and adults, causes and symptoms of the disease, treatment and prognosis

Leukemia, what is it? The disease has several names, in everyday life it is customary to call it “blood cancer”, while doctors working in the field of oncology gave it the name “hemoblastosis”.

This is a whole complex of oncological problems that affect hematopoietic tissues. If cancer cells appear in the bone marrow (this is where new blood cells are formed), hemoblastosis is called leukemia. If they multiply outside of it, the disease is called hematosarcoma.

Leukemia (or leukemia) combines several ailments, which are accompanied by the transformation of certain groups of hematopoietic cells into cancerous ones. They begin to multiply, sometimes at a tremendous rate, and crowd out healthy cells - both in the bone marrow and in the blood itself.

The disease is classified according to the group of affected cells.

Lymphocytic leukemia - accompanied by malignant changes in lymphocytes.

Myeloid leukemia - granulocytic leukocytes enter the bloodstream.

Leukemias, in turn, are divided into acute or chronic, in the first case, the disease is accompanied by the entry of immature cancerous blood cells into the bloodstream, the second form is characterized by the accumulation of mature unhealthy blood cells in the liver, spleen, lymph nodes and blood. In the acute form, treatment should be immediate.

Leukemia is a relatively rare cancer. According to medical statistics in the United States, every 25th person out of a hundred thousand suffers from it; children and pensioners over 60 are at risk.

The symptoms of blood cancer can vary depending on the form of the disease, how the cancer cells spread, and how many of them there are. For example, chronic leukemia in the early stages is characterized by a small number of them, in such a situation, symptoms may not appear soon.

Acute leukemia appears very early. Common symptoms common to both forms:

• enlarged lymph nodes, most often in the armpits or on the neck, pain does not occur;
• the patient quickly gets tired, weakness appears;
• the body becomes prone to infections;
• body temperature rises for no apparent reason;
• at night the patient begins to sweat;
• pain in the joints;
• the liver and / or spleen increase in size, this leads to discomfort in the hypochondrium;
• the work of the circulatory system is disrupted, the blood does not clot, bruises form for no apparent reason, often the nose bleeds, the gums bleed.

If cancer cells accumulate in some parts of the body, the following symptoms appear:

• consciousness becomes confused;
• there is shortness of breath, pain in the head;
• nausea and vomiting;
• impaired coordination of movements, vision becomes blurred;
• swelling appears on the hands and in the groin, convulsions occur.

In children, leukemia is most often lymphoblastic and affects children between the ages of three and seven.

At the same time, it is children who most often suffer from a disease of this form. An acute illness without proper treatment leads to the death of a child. Symptoms:

• Intoxication - leads to a weakening of the child's body, the child becomes weak and loses weight. The body becomes less resistant to viruses, bacteria or fungi, and in the event of an infection, a fever appears.
• Hyperplastic syndrome - is manifested by an increase in the size of all peripheral lymph nodes, as a result, difficulty in breathing is possible.
• The spleen and liver enlarge, which can cause severe pain in the abdomen.
• Aches, pain in the joints, is provoked by negative changes in the bone marrow.
• Anemic syndrome is also accompanied by weakness, in addition, the child becomes pale, tachycardia appears, the gums bleed.
• Boys may have testicular enlargement.
• Problems in the visual organs - outpouring of blood into the retina, swelling of the optic nerve, leukemic plaques are concentrated in the fundus.
• Respiratory failure.

As you can see, the symptoms are in many ways similar to those that can appear in adults, but in children they are more pronounced.

Leukemia is a very serious disease, although in its chronic form it can proceed without symptoms for a long time. The first signs, with the appearance of which one can suspect the occurrence of this disease, are weight loss, loss of appetite and abnormal sweating. There may also be aching pain in the bones.

Lymph nodes can expand, while becoming elastic, dense, acquiring a rounded shape. They can connect with each other, but when they are felt, pain does not appear. However, if the mesenteric lymph nodes are enlarged, severe pain may appear in the abdomen.

Neuroleukemia is one of the types of leukemia, accompanied by the appearance of metastases in the brain and spinal cord. In addition to the usual symptoms, additional ones appear - headaches, impaired consciousness, dysphasia.

Another common symptom is gingival hypertrophy. Signs in children are usually more noticeable, it is much easier to establish the presence of leukemia by them, but this, unfortunately, does not make the disease easier.

Despite the efforts of scientists around the world, it was not possible to establish a reliable cause of this disease. The only 100% regularity that has been found is that all known causes of leukemia are associated with a malfunction of the immune system.

The causative agent is hematopoietic cells that have changed their structure and become cancerous, even one can lead to leukemia. Having mutated, it continues its life cycle - it divides and creates its own analogues. Such cells, as a rule, are very resistant, they crowd out healthy ones.

Possible causes of mutation in healthy cells:

• Irradiation. Intense radiation (radiation) is a proven cause of oncological diseases. For example, the number of patients with blood cancer after the bombing of Japanese cities with atomic bombs has approximately tripled. And the closer people were to the explosion zone, the more sick people were.
• Carcinogens. It has been proven that some substances, when ingested, increase the likelihood of developing cancer, especially such drugs as chloramphenicol, cytostatics and butadion, and pesticides - benzene, oil refinery products, etc.
• hereditary tendency. More often it concerns chronic leukemia. It has been proven that if there is at least one person with acute leukemia in the family, the likelihood of the disease increases three to four times. In this case, it is not the disease itself that is inherited, but an increased probability of cell mutation.
• Viruses. According to one theory, viruses that are part of human DNA and contribute to mutations at the cellular level become the cause of the disease.

Some scientists suggest that the likelihood of developing blood cancer depends on the race and nationality of the person.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Treatment of this type of disease is divided into three main phases:

• induction;
• consolidation (or intensification);
• maintaining the body.

Induction

At this stage, the main task is to achieve remission. This word means the disappearance of mutated cells from the bloodstream and bone marrow and the normalization of the process of blood formation.

In children, remission is achieved in 95% of cases; the recovery rate among older people is lower. During induction, intensive therapy is used, a complication in the form of an infectious infection is possible.

Consolidations

The phase is more intense, it lasts from 4 to 8 months. At standard risk, methotrexate and 6-mercaptopurine are used; if blood cancer continues to progress, cytarabine, doxorubicin and other potent drugs are used, and special physiological procedures are also used.

Supportive care

The patient passes through it after the first phases are completed. Most often, doctors recommend continuing the use of the same drugs that were previously used, but in smaller doses, this stage can last up to three years.

Acute myeloid leukemia

The treatment procedure already involves the passage of two phases - induction and consolidation.

Induction

Normally, daunomycin and cytarabine are used at the first stage, sometimes doctors add other drugs. Since AML is associated with pathologies of the central nervous system, prophylaxis with the use of chemotherapy drugs is prescribed. They are injected directly into the spinal canal. The introduction of retinoic acid is allowed. Proper treatment can achieve remission in 80% of cases.

Intensification

At this stage, when there are no cancer cells in the bone marrow, the dose of cytarabine is increased. With significant complications, stem cell transplantation is allowed, it is desirable that the brother or sister of the patient be involved for this.

After treatment, support is not required, only children can be prescribed the use of retinoid acid for a year.

Therapy depends on which risk group the patient belongs to:

• Low risk group. The prognosis for such patients is generally favorable, treatment at this stage may not be prescribed, but it is necessary that the patient be observed by a specialist. If symptoms worsen, treatment is prescribed.
• Medium and high risk group. If symptoms are not expressed in patients, treatment is not necessary, but therapy should not be abandoned if signs of blood cancer develop.

Treatment is chemotherapy with chlorambucil, an anti-cancer drug. If noticeable side effects appear, it can be replaced with cyclophosphamide and other analogues. Doctors may also prescribe a combination treatment.

Chronic phase lymphocytic leukemia also has three phases:

1. Chronic. The introduction of the drug "Gleevec" in 90% of cases allows to achieve remission, if previously used chemical therapy using high doses of chemicals, as well as total irradiation and stem cell transplantation.
2. Aggravation. May begin shortly after remission. Using interferon, you can maximize the remission. A positive response to chemotherapy is obtained in 20% of cases, but its duration does not exceed six months.
3. Blistering crisis. It is characterized by the similarity of cancer cells with those that form in AML. Moreover, they almost do not react to the effects of chemicals. In this phase, the positive effect of the treatment is very rare, and it is not stable enough. Stem cell transplantation allows to prolong life as much as possible. However, if tumor cells are similar to those formed in ALL, their resistance to chemotherapy is reduced.

Learn more about acute leukemia:

Treatment in children

If a child has been diagnosed with blood cancer, he must be referred for intensive care in special departments, where modern and most effective methods of treatment are used.

Parents should clarify in advance what complications the disease threatens and how therapy can affect the child.

In general, the methods of treatment do not differ from those indicated above, however, children are prone to the following complications:

• With a decrease in the content of leukocytes, the risk of infection increases significantly.
• With a shortage of red blood cells, the blood is not saturated with a normal amount of oxygen, which threatens with complications in the heart.
• A lack of platelets leads to heavy bleeding.

Some parents try to treat the disease using traditional medicine methods, but they are not only powerless, but also oppose the ability of the injected chemicals to destroy harmful cells.

Leukemia is a malignant pathology that affects the circulatory system. Its primary focus of localization is bone marrow tissue.

The disease has no age restrictions, but in more than 90% of detected cases, the disease affects adults. In the past few years, the statistics of leukemia cases has been steadily increasing.

Pathology can proceed both in acute and have a chronic form of the course. In the first case, its clinical manifestations will be more pronounced, in the second case, the symptoms are extremely blurred and it is not always possible to diagnose the disease in time.

The acute form of leukemia is characteristic of the elderly, while the chronic manifestation of blood cancer affects young and middle-aged people. It is in this situation that it is extremely important to carefully monitor the slightest manifestations of the disease.

First symptoms

In the vast majority of patients with this diagnosis at the initial stages of its progression, the process proceeds differently. The intensity of the manifesting signs is determined by the state of the body's immune forces and the general physical health of a person.

This symptom is considered one of the most non-specific and therefore almost always ignored up to a certain point. This condition is very close to the manifestations of a cold at the stage when nothing hurts yet, but the person understands that something is wrong with him.

There is muscle weakness, drowsiness, lethargy. Often this "set" is accompanied by swelling of the mucosa, headache, ocular tearing, characteristic of viral diseases.

The patient begins to take anti-cold drugs, due to their orientation they give some result, eliminating physical discomfort, which blurs the symptoms for an indefinite time, and the person continues to not notice a serious threat.

Anemia

Leukemia, especially its myeloid form, provokes a tendency to bleeding, the appearance of hematomas, bruises, even with a slight mechanical impact, which should not be normal.

The phenomenon is considered a consequence of a violation of the cellular structure of platelets, in which blood cells lose their natural coagulability. During this state, the number of red blood cells reaches an extremely low level. This is how anemia occurs. It is because of her that the skin becomes paler than usual, which directly indicates serious problems with hematopoiesis.

sweating

One of the main early signs of the development of a malignant anomaly of the blood. This is especially true in cases where, due to physiological and anatomical features, a person was previously not prone to sweating.

The phenomenon occurs spontaneously, cannot be corrected. Basically, it happens at night during sleep. Such sweating in oncological practice is interpreted as profuse and is the result of damaging processes in the central nervous system.

Patients with leukemia tissue fragments - the cause of infiltration of the outer epithelial integuments and glands that produce sweat secretion.

Enlarged lymph nodes

Submandibular, clavicular, axillary and inguinal nodal joints, that is, those areas where there are skin folds, fall under the damaging effect of progressive pathology. However, they are quite easy to spot.

Since cancer-affected leukocytes actively accumulate and develop further in the lymph nodes, their increase is an inevitable process. Abnormal tissues gradually fill immature forms, and the nodes increase many times in diameter.

They are characterized by an elastic and soft internal content, while mechanical pressure on the tumor is accompanied by pain of varying degrees of intensity, which cannot but alert a person and requires consultation of a specialized specialist.

If the lymph node is larger than 2 cm, this is far from the norm, but most likely a developing oncological pathology.

Enlargement of the liver and spleen

It is worth noting that these signs are quite specific and may have a completely different background. It is important to understand the borderline conditions of enlargement of these organs in order to adequately judge the possible risks of oncology.

As for the liver, its increase is not too pronounced and critical. With such a diagnosis, it almost never reaches large sizes. The spleen somewhat dominates in this regard - it begins to grow actively already at the initial stages of the course of the disease and gradually spreads to the entire area of ​​the left peritoneal zone.

At the same time, the organ changes its structure - it becomes dense in the center, and softer at the edges. It does not cause discomfort and pain, which makes it difficult to diagnose this anomaly, especially in overweight patients.

Main symptoms

As the disease progresses, the symptoms of its course become brighter. At this stage, it is extremely important to pay attention to secondary signs of leukemia, since untimely seeking medical help is the main cause of death in adults from the considered malignant pathology.

Bleeding

Blood leukemia in adults, regardless of its form, disrupts the normal processes of platelet production, which directly determine the quality of blood clotting. As the disease progresses, this condition worsens, as a result of which fibrin clots that can stop bleeding simply do not have time to form.

In this state, even shallow cuts and scratches are very dangerous. And nosebleeds are fraught with serious losses of blood mass.

Women on the background of the disease are characterized by heavy menstruation, cycle disorders and spontaneous uterine bleeding.

bruising

Bruises and bruises appear suddenly, and their nature of occurrence is not mechanical trauma to the affected tissue fragment. This is the specificity of the symptom, and the inexplicability of their appearance is the result of a low content of platelets in the blood plasma and the resulting low blood clotting.

Bruises can appear in any part of the patient's body, but their predominant number is in the upper and lower extremities.

Joint pain

Pain in the joints differs in varying degrees of intensity and is a consequence of a large concentration of diseased cells in the brain, in particular in those areas where their maximum density is concentrated - in the area of ​​​​the sternum and pelvic bone at the ilium.

As the stage of leukemia increases in an adult, cancer cells grow into the brain fluid, enter the nerve endings and cause local pain.

chronic fever

Many associate a chronic increase in the patient's body temperature with internal inflammatory processes, however, if this phenomenon does not have obvious symptoms, then with a high degree of probability, malignant oncological lesions of organs can be suspected.

A chaotic increase in the number of leukocytes will inevitably cause biochemical processes with a releasing action of components that activate the activity of the hypothalamus, which, in turn, is responsible for an increase in the patient's body temperature.

Frequent infectious diseases

Chronic cough, nasal congestion, become almost regular, especially in the acute form of the disease in adults.

The reason for this phenomenon is the low functional ability of leukocytes, which are responsible for the immunomodeling of cells. The body affected by leukemia can no longer qualitatively and quickly fight the pathogens of viral and catarrhal infections penetrating from the environment, and the disease becomes regular.

In this condition, the patient's microflora is disturbed, which further reduces susceptibility to SARS and colds.

Constant malaise

A constant feeling of fatigue and physical weakness even after a good rest, a feeling of indifference and depression associated with this state, are directly a consequence of the fall in the level of erythrocytes. This process occurs at lightning speed and progresses just as rapidly.

Often, against the background of this, appetite decreases, a person begins to lose body weight, since the tumor transformation of cancerous blood cells in an adult organism requires large energy resources. As a result, the patient becomes weak and exhausted.

Distinguishing symptoms by type

The clinical manifestations of leukemia in an adult may differ somewhat and have more non-standard manifestations depending on the type of disease. In addition to the general signs characteristic of the pathology, the following specific symptoms of the development of tumor processes in the blood were revealed.

Chronic myeloid leukemia

Manifestations of myeloid oncology in the chronic stage of the course in addition to the general signs of the disease are fraught with:

• palpitations or vice versa, slow heart rate;
• fungal infections of the oral cavity - stomatitis, tonsillitis;
• renal failure - manifests itself, starting from the 3rd stage of the course of the disease;

Chronic lymphoblastic leukemia

It belongs to the group of non-Hodgkin manifestations of lymphoma, the main cause of which is a genetic factor. Against the background of the disease develop:

• severe impairment of immune function- entail a sharp deterioration in the state of health and dysfunction of a number of important systems and departments of the body's vital activity;
• urinary tract pathology- cystitis, urethritis are most often diagnosed, and only in the process of their therapy is the true cause of their appearance revealed;
• tendency to fester- purulent masses accumulate in the area of ​​​​subcutaneous adipose tissue;
• lung lesions- often they lead to death against the background of the main diagnosis - leukemia;
• shingles- proceeds hard, quickly affects large areas of tissue, often passes to mucous fragments.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia

The course of the disease is accompanied by the following distinctive features:

• severe intoxication of the body- manifests itself in various kinds of viral, bacterial infections and inflammatory processes;
• vomiting reflex-accompanied by an uncontrolled course. The composition of the vomit contains a large number of blood fragments;
• respiratory failure and as a result, the development of heart failure.

Acute myeloid leukemia

The disease, unlike other types of leukemia, in adult patients develops extremely rapidly and already at the stage of tumor formation, symptoms associated with a particular type of cancer may be characteristic:

• sharp, more than 10% of the total body weight, weight loss- weight loss occurs very quickly, the patient spontaneously loses fat mass after a couple of months;
• pain in the abdomen- caused by the growth of parenchymal departments;
• tarry stools- their cause is bleeding of the gastrointestinal tract;
• high intracranial pressure- occurs due to swelling of the optic nerve and acute headache.

Informative and educational video about the symptoms of the disease:

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Leukemia is considered a cancer. This is a tumor characterized by the accumulation of a large number of mature lymphocytes in the blood. There are several types of leukemia: lymphocytic leukemia and myeloid leukemia, which, in turn, have chronic and acute forms. In this article, we will look at the most common type of leukemia in adults, its symptoms are chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

According to the nature of the course, they are divided into: acute and chronic. These forms cannot flow into each other.

Prognosis for life in acute form of the disease

When a patient is diagnosed with a chronic form of blood pathology, then with timely proper therapy, medical statistics confirm about 85% of favorable prognosis. However, when acute leukemia is diagnosed, life prognosis is less positive. If the patient refuses competent assistance, then the duration of life with this disease does not exceed four months. Myeloid leukemia assumes no more than three years of life expectancy, despite the age of the patient. The chance of recovery in this case is only 10% of cases. Lymphoblastic leukemia is characterized by frequent relapses that are observed for two years. When the remission lasts at least five years, the patient can be classified as recovered (about 50% of cases are noted).

Symptoms of CLL

In some patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, the disease is detected at the initial asymptomatic stage only with a specialized blood test, proceeds in the so-called smoldering mode, so there is no need for treatment. Doctors will talk about the treatment of chronic leukemia if the following symptoms are present:

1. One or more symptoms of intoxication: for example, weight loss within six months of at least 10%, provided that the patient did not take any measures to lose weight; the level of sweating increases markedly, especially at night, while sweat is not associated with infectious diseases; constant temperature fluctuations without signs of infection. All this leads to rapid and unreasonable fatigue, weakness, and reduced ability to work.
2. Increasing anemia and / or thrombocytopenia due to bone marrow infiltration, as well as the resistance of these symptoms to prednisone.
3. A clear enlargement of the spleen, more than 6 cm below the costal arch.
4. An enlarged view of the lymph nodes, while the increase in their volume is massive and increasing (neck, armpits, groin).
5. An increase in the number of lymphocytes in the blood by more than half in two months.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is incurable. Most of the patients are elderly people, although young people are also sick. The prognosis of the disease, the level of survival is determined not so much by the tumor itself, but by the age, number and severity of concomitant diseases.

Complications in leukemia

1. The appearance of private infectious diseases, urethritis, cystitis.
2. Severe infectious diseases - meningitis, pneumonia, exudative pleurisy, shingles.
3. Tinnitus, hearing disorder due to infiltration of the vestibulocochlear nerve.
4. A decrease in the amount of hemoglobin, below 110 g per liter.

Ldisease treatment

Note! Before proceeding to treatment, you need to make sure that the oncologist is highly specialized, that he has a certificate.

The system of therapy depends on the age category of the patient, his physical condition, the degree of manifestation of symptoms, earlier treatment, the degree of its toxicity, possible complications, the presence of chronic diseases caused by the same pathogen. When treating patients with good physical status, the physician should strive for stable remission, preferably at the molecular level, when treating elderly patients, to control the tumor, avoiding unnecessary toxicity. Patients of senile age try to improve the quality of life as much as possible.

There are different types of treatment. The main methods of treating the disease include:

Diagnosis of lymphocytic leukemia

Methods are laboratory studies.

1. A general blood test is taken.
2. Genetic testing is underway.
3. Blood chemistry. Method of laboratory diagnostics, which allows to determine the quality of the functions of internal organs.
4. Ultrasound is an ultrasound examination, this procedure will also allow you to determine the work of the system of internal organs.
5. Tomography helps to see a layered picture of the state of the internal organs of a person.
6. Computed tomography is a method of layer-by-layer diagnostics of the body, based on x-rays.
7. Carrying out a scan of the bone and lymphatic systems.
8. Biopsy of lymph nodes.

Important! The purpose of prevention is regular visits to the doctor, the identification of all deviations, the obligatory delivery of laboratory tests. With prolonged infections of any kind, an inexplicable decline in strength and performance, a visit to a specialist should also be made in an urgent form.

Nutrition for leukemia

In the fight against the disease, the patient loses a lot of strength and energy, side effects of radiation appear, the diet for the disease does not differ much from the usual balanced diet. To maintain the immune system, patients are prescribed nutritional supplements and vitamins.

It is recommended to give up fast food, fried and smoked foods, alcoholic beverages, try to avoid excessive salt in your food. It is necessary to give up caffeine, tea, Coca-Cola, these products prevent the absorption of iron, the lack of which is acutely felt in leukemia. With this pathology, it is recommended to use foods rich in antioxidants, namely: apples, carrots, berries, garlic.

Eat enough zinc, which provides the most important processes of hematopoiesis. Include seafood in the diet: mussels, seaweed, beef liver. To fight the disease, the patient needs a lot of effort and energy, it is advisable to consume fats and carbohydrates, whose concentration is in nuts, fatty fish, avocados.

To get enough selenium, it is recommended to consume legumes. Buckwheat and oatmeal. Selenium protects the body from toxic substances.

Important! The body should receive a sufficient amount of vitamin C, copper, cobalt, manganese. They contribute to the regeneration of blood cells, which is important in the treatment.

You can learn more about the causes of leukemia in adults from the video.

Video - Causes, symptoms and treatment of leukemia

What is leukemia in humans?

Leukemia (blood cancer, leukemia, leukemia) is a blood cancer in which uncontrolled cell division of the leukocyte germ occurs. In acute leukemia, the tumor substrate is blast cells; in chronic leukemia, mature cells. These types of leukemia differ significantly in clinical presentation, course, and approach to therapy. The prognosis of leukemia without treatment is unfavorable, but modern medicine has made significant progress in the treatment of leukemia. With timely diagnosis and the fulfillment of all doctor's prescriptions, it is possible to achieve stable remission. The percentage of favorable and fatal outcomes, as well as the frequency of relapses, depend on the type of leukemia and the individual characteristics of the disease.

Causes of leukemia

It is rather difficult to name the causes of leukemia unambiguously. The disease is associated with the occurrence of chromosomal mutations that determine the type of disease, treatment tactics and prognosis. Currently, there are several factors that can cause changes in the cell genome:

• radiation;
• carcinogens;
• viruses;
• heredity.

Prevention of leukemia comes down to limiting exposure to risk factors.

Leukemia pathogenesis

As a result of the changes that have occurred in the cells of the leukocyte germ, their uncontrolled reproduction begins. At first, this is a benign progression, but subsequently, as a result of further mutations, subclones-polyclones are formed, causing malignant proliferation. As a result, a huge number of "wrong" leukocytes are formed. These are immature forms with low functional activity and a longer lifespan. From the bone marrow, where the pathological process is initially localized, tumor cells enter the blood, where they can be determined when performing a general blood test.

Intensive leukopoiesis in the bone marrow suppresses the rest of the hematopoiesis, which causes the development of anemia and thrombocytopenia with the corresponding symptoms. There are many leukocytes in the blood, but since they are immature, they do not perform their function, so patients with leukemia are prone to the development of infectious diseases.

Without treatment, tumor cells spread throughout the body, accumulating in the liver, lymph nodes, spleen, nervous system, disrupting their normal functioning. The cause of death without therapy can be complications from the organs involved in the pathological process, bleeding or hemorrhage in the brain as a result of thrombocytopenia, as well as infections that develop against the background of immune deficiency.

Symptoms of leukemia

The first signs of leukemia are nonspecific and often go unnoticed, which significantly worsens the prognosis of the disease. Often it is mistaken for another pathology, it is treated for a long time and to no avail, and in the meantime the disease progresses.

Signs of leukemia:

These symptoms are common to all types of leukemia, but each of them has its own characteristics.

Leukemia classification

Acute and chronic leukemia are completely different diseases, that is, acute leukemia is not an exacerbation of a chronic one, and does not turn into it later, as you might think by analogy with many other diseases. The only explanation for why this terminology is used is that the onset and course of chronic leukemia is much slower and smoother than acute ones.

Acute leukemia is a tumor, the substrate of which is immature blast cells, while in chronic leukemia, maturing and mature cells of the leukocyte series pathologically multiply. Acute leukemia is more common in children, while chronic leukemia is more common in adults.

The classification of leukemias is based on the morphological features of the disease. Hematopoiesis includes several stages that cells go through, differentiating from a precursor cell to a mature leukocyte with a characteristic morphology (lymphocyte, neutrophil, monocyte, etc.). A tumor process can develop in a population of any transitional forms, and it is this fact that determines the name of the disease, the features of its course and therapy.

Classification of acute leukemia:

• acute lymphoblastic leukemia (the most common in children and having the most favorable prognosis for life);
• acute myeloid leukemia (most common in adults);
• acute monoblastic leukemia (rare);
• acute promyelocytic leukemia (rare and rapidly progressive);
• acute plasmablastic leukemia;
• acute megakaryoblastic leukemia (very rare);
• acute erythromyeloblastic leukemia (rare, can transform into myeloblastic).

Classification of chronic leukemia:

• chronic myeloid leukemia;
• chronic lymphocytic leukemia:
  - prolymphocytic leukemia (the most rapidly progressive of CLL);
  - hairy cell leukemia;
  - t-cell leukemia;
• chronic monocytic leukemia.

Diagnosis of leukemia

The simplest test to suspect leukemia is a blood test. For greater information content, it is recommended not only automatic cell counting, but also with the help of a laboratory assistant, “with the eyes”. Some devices can confuse one cell with another and are not able to determine their morphological features.

The blood picture in leukemia has the following features:

• Leukocytes

Change in the number of leukocytes. Abnormalities can be in both directions - leukopenia or hyperleukocytosis are equally possible signs of leukemia, but an increase in the number of leukocytes is more common. That is why leukemia is called leukemia.

The qualitative composition of leukocytes also changes significantly in leukemia and is a diagnostic criterion for acute and chronic forms. In acute leukemia, as a rule, blasts and mature cells are found in the blood in the absence of intermediate forms. This picture is called "leukemic failure" and is considered a reliable sign of acute leukemia. In chronic leukemia, there are few or no blasts in the blood test, there is no leukemic dip, all transitional forms are present.

Blasts, which clearly indicate acute leukemia, are not always present in the peripheral blood, therefore, they may not be detected in the general blood test. Leukemia can be suspected on the basis of signs of inhibition of other hematopoietic sprouts.

• red blood cells

The number of red blood cells in the blood test is usually reduced, as their formation is prevented by tumor cells that fill the bone marrow. Due to a decrease in the number of red blood cells, hemoglobin numbers decrease, that is, anemia develops. The fact that it is not associated with iron or vitamin deficiency confirms the normal or increased hemoglobin content in erythrocytes, as well as a small number of reticulocytes, indicating a low regenerative ability of the erythroid germ.

• platelets

The number of platelets decreases for the same reasons as the number of red blood cells. In an isolated form, it practically does not occur, therefore it is evaluated in combination with other indicators.

Bone Marrow Research

A general blood test can only suspect leukemia, and a final diagnosis can only be made after a bone marrow puncture. In punctate with leukemia, blasts are always detected, in addition, it is possible to adequately assess the process of hematopoiesis, determine the tumor substrate. The material taken during the puncture is subjected not only to visual examination in order to assess the cell morphology, but cytochemical reactions and immunophenotyping are carried out, allowing the most accurate diagnosis to be made. This is important from the point of view of prescribing therapy, since it has been proven that phenotypically different tumor cells react differently to chemotherapy drugs.

In cases where the puncture is not informative, a trepanobiopsy is prescribed. It gives a more reliable picture, since during its implementation a column of tissue is “taken”. During puncture, the liquid bone marrow is “pulled out” by a syringe through a needle, and pathological cells, if there are few of them, may simply not get into the punctate.

Additional Research

In the primary diagnosis of leukemia, a number of studies are necessarily carried out to assess the state of the body and the degree of involvement of other organs and systems (not the bone marrow) in the pathological process.

• A lumbar puncture is mandatory to rule out neuroleukemia. Blastic cytosis indicates the involvement of the nervous system in the disease.
• Ultrasound of the liver and spleen is prescribed, even if the organs are not enlarged. Foci of leukemoid infiltration may be detected.
• X-ray or computed tomography of the chest reveals the expansion of the shadow of the mediastinum due to intrathoracic lymph nodes, darkening in the lungs (leukemids).
• A biochemical blood test at the onset of the disease may not have significant deviations from the norm, but it is important for assessing the state of the body before prescribing chemotherapy and is performed constantly during it. For the same purpose, ECG, EEG are performed.

Differential Diagnosis

Symptoms of leukemia may resemble the clinical picture of some other diseases with which differential diagnosis should be made.

• Inhibition of all germs of hematopoiesis (pancytopenia) is observed in aplastic anemia, which can be congenital or acquired.


• Leukocytosis with the appearance of young forms in the peripheral blood (“shift to the left”) is called a leukemoid reaction, which can develop with severe infections, treatment with prednisolone. It is important that there are no blasts in leukemoid reactions.


• Enlargement of the liver and spleen (hepatosplenomegaly) in the presence of signs of infection - clinical signs of infectious mononucleosis. In addition to external signs, mononuclear cells appear in the blood - a characteristic symptom of the disease. They are altered lymphocytes and may be mistaken for blast cells.


• Enlarged lymph nodes, spleen, frequent infections are symptoms of AIDS. The disease is diagnosed by determining the markers of HIV infection in the blood.

Leukemia treatment

The most common question regarding leukemia is the main one: is it treated or not? The answer to it depends on the type of leukemia, the stage of the disease at which it was diagnosed and, accordingly, therapy was started, and the characteristics of the body.

It should be noted right away that the treatment of oncohematological diseases is a very serious issue, and is always carried out with the use of chemotherapeutic agents. Attempts to treat leukemia with folk remedies will not only not bring results, but can also lead to sad consequences due to the delay in starting a full-fledged treatment.

Chemotherapy

Currently, a protocol approach to chemotherapy is used. Its essence lies in the continuous and prolonged administration of chemotherapy drugs according to a certain scheme. It usually includes 3 stages:

• remission induction;
• consolidation of remission;
• maintenance therapy.

Some variants of leukemia, which are more common and well studied, have detailed protocols detailing not only the doses and frequency of drug administration, but also detailed instructions for diagnosis and tactics in the development of various complications. For example, the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children (the most common option) has been worked out to the smallest detail, due to which it shows high efficiency.

Treatment of acute leukemia usually requires a more careful approach and more multicomponent therapy.

Scientists are constantly working on optimizing leukemia treatment regimens, which allows us to achieve ever better results. If literally 50 years ago the diagnosis of leukemia, especially acute, sounded like a sentence, today the prognosis of many variants can be considered favorable. Unfortunately, in some cases, relapses of the disease develop, for the treatment of which protocols are also being developed.

Chemotherapy protocols are being researched in several clinics before being widely used in all clinics in the country. Alternatives may be used during the development phase. The most effective option is recommended for inclusion in the protocol.

Drugs for the treatment of leukemia and associated complications

To defeat leukemia, it is necessary to destroy all tumor cells. Even if a small number of them remain, hemoblastosis will subsequently develop again. Therefore, it is very important to use cytostatics that cause cell death by apoptosis in therapy. Glucocorticosteroids are also prescribed, which suppress the division of pathological cells. These drugs are administered orally or parenterally. If blasts are detected in the cerebrospinal fluid, intrathecal administration of drugs (into the spinal canal during puncture) is indicated.

Chemotherapeutic agents act not only on tumor cells, they also damage healthy tissues, which is the cause of the development of numerous complications. In order to prevent or alleviate them, accompanying therapy is provided. In particular, with the introduction of cytostatics, constant infusions of saline or glucose solution are required to remove decay products. If there is fluid retention in the body, diuretics are prescribed.

Since the disinfection of all toxic substances occurs in the liver, the load on it increases many times during chemotherapy. For this reason, a biochemical blood test is regularly performed to determine the level of transaminases. An increase in their number indicates damage to the liver tissue and is an indication for the appointment of hepatoprotectors.

Cytostatics, especially in combination with hormones, significantly suppress the immune system, the body becomes very susceptible to infections - bacterial, viral, fungal. For this reason, it is necessary to constantly monitor body temperature and monitor the first symptoms of the infectious process in order to prescribe etiotropic therapy in a timely manner.

Some chemotherapy drugs can cause an allergic reaction, including an acute one, so medical staff should be prepared to administer an antihistamine, especially when a patient first comes into contact with a chemotherapy drug.

Glucocorticosteroids (GCS) have a large number of complications. An increase in appetite and an increase in body weight, nervous excitability are the most obvious, but not the most dangerous of them. Hormonal drugs can cause:

• damage to the mucous membranes of the stomach and duodenum with the development of gastritis and ulcers (prevention - antacids);
• increased blood pressure;
• changes in the electrolyte composition of the blood in the form of a decrease in the content of potassium (especially with the simultaneous appointment of diuretics);
• osteoporosis (prevention - calcium with vitamin D3);
• infections due to immune suppression.

In addition to chemotherapy, some types of leukemia use radiotherapy, that is, radiation. Its effect is also based on the suppression of cell reproduction.

If with the help of chemotherapy it was possible to achieve remission, that is, tumor cells are not detected in the bone marrow and other organs, after completion of maintenance therapy, patients stop taking anticancer drugs. In the future, only regular examinations are necessary so as not to miss the return of the disease.

The chance of recurrence is, unfortunately, quite high. Their treatment requires the resumption of chemotherapy.

If a stable remission cannot be achieved, which happens both with the initial detection of the disease and with its relapse, bone marrow transplantation becomes the only treatment option.

Not any bone marrow can be used for transplantation - the donor and recipient must be HLA compatible. The probability of finding a suitable donor among relatives is much higher, but the presence of family ties is not a mandatory criterion. There are stem cell banks around the world that provide information about their database upon request.

Leukemia (syn. leukemia, lymphosarcoma or blood cancer) is a group of tumor diseases with characteristic uncontrolled growth and various etiologies. Leukemia, the symptoms of which are determined based on its specific form, proceeds with the gradual replacement of normal cells with leukemic cells, against which serious complications develop (bleeding, anemia, etc.).

general description

In a normal state, cells in the body are subject to division, maturation, performance of functions and death in accordance with the program that is embedded in them. After the death of cells, their destruction occurs, after which new, young cells appear in their place.

With regard to cancer, it implies a violation in the program of cells regarding their division, life and functions, as a result of which their growth and reproduction occur outside of any control. Leukemia is essentially a cancer that affects bone marrow cells - cells that in a healthy person are the beginning for blood cells (leukocytes and erythrocytes (white and red blood cells), platelets (platelets).

• Leukocytes (they are also white blood cells, white blood cells). The main function is to provide protection for the body from exposure to foreign agents, as well as direct participation in the fight against the processes associated with infectious diseases.
• Erythrocytes (aka - red blood cells, red blood cells). In this case, the main function is to ensure the transfer of oxygen and other types of substances to the tissues of the body.
• Platelets (also known as platelets). Their main function is to participate in the process that ensures blood clotting. It should be noted the importance of this function for the blood as its consideration in the form of a protective reaction necessary for the body in case of significant blood loss associated with vascular damage.

People who have developed blood cancer are faced with disturbances in the processes occurring in the bone marrow, due to which the blood is saturated with a significant amount of white blood cells, that is, leukocytes that are unable to perform their inherent functions. Cancer cells, unlike healthy cells, do not die in due time - their activity is focused on circulation through the blood, which makes them a serious obstacle to healthy cells, whose work is correspondingly more complicated. This, as is already clear, leads to the spread of leukemia cells in the body, as well as to their entry into organs or lymph nodes. In the latter version, such an invasion provokes an increase in an organ or lymph node, in some cases pain may also appear.

Leukemia and leukemia are synonymous with each other, indicating, in fact, blood cancer. Both of these definitions act as the correct name for the disease that is relevant to their processes. As for blood cancer, this definition is not correct in terms of considering it from a medical point of view, although this particular term has received the main prevalence in use. A more correct name for blood cancer is hemoblastosis, which means a group of tumor formations formed on the basis of hematopoietic cells. A tumor formation (the tumor itself) is an actively growing tissue that is little controlled by the body, in addition, this formation is not the result of the accumulation of non-metabolized cells in it or the result of inflammation.

Hemoblastoses, the tumor cells of which damage the bone marrow, are defined as the leukemias we are considering or as lymphomas. Leukemias differ from lymphomas in that, firstly, some of them have a systemic lesion (leukemia), while others, respectively, do not have it (lymphomas). The terminal (final) stage of lymphomas is accompanied by metastasis (which also affects the bone marrow). Leukemias imply a primary lesion of the bone marrow, while lymphomas affect it secondarily, already as an effect of metastases. Given the fact that leukemia is determined mainly by the presence of tumor cells in the blood, the term "leukemia" is used in the designation of leukemia.

Summing up the general description of the disease, we highlight its features. Thus, blood cancer implies a tumor that develops on the basis of a single cell, directly related to the bone marrow. This implies an uncontrolled and constant division of it, occurring within a certain time interval, which can be either several weeks or several months.

In this case, as already noted, the accompanying process is the displacement and suppression of other blood cells, that is, normal cells (suppression determines the effect on their growth and development). The symptoms of blood cancer, taking into account these features of exposure, will be closely related to the lack of one or another type of normal and functioning cells in the body. A tumor, as such, does not exist in the body with blood cancer, that is, it will not be possible to see it, which is explained by its certain “absent-mindedness” throughout the body, this absent-mindedness is provided by blood flow.

Classification

Based on the aggressiveness inherent in the course of the disease, an acute form of leukemia and a chronic form are distinguished.

Acute leukemia implies the detection in the blood of a significant number of cancerous immature cells, these cells do not perform their functions. Symptoms of leukemia in this case appear quite early, the disease is characterized by rapid progression.

chronic leukemia determines the ability of cancer cells to perform the functions inherent in them, due to which the symptoms of the disease do not appear for a long time. Detection of chronic leukemia often occurs randomly, for example, as part of a preventive examination or, if necessary, to study the patient's blood for one purpose or another. The course of the chronic form of the disease is characterized by less aggressiveness, in comparison with its acute form, but this does not exclude its progression due to the constant increase in the number of cancer cells in the blood.

Both forms have an important feature, which is that, contrary to the scenario of many diseases, the acute form never becomes chronic and the chronic form can never aggravate. Accordingly, definitions such as "acute" or "chronic" form are used only for the convenience of attributing the disease to a specific scenario of its course.

Depending on the specific type of leukocytes involved in the pathological process, the following types of leukemia are distinguished:

• Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (or chronic lymphocytic leukemia, lymphocytic chronic leukemia) – is a type of blood cancer, which is accompanied by a violation of the division of lymphocytes in the bone marrow and a violation of their maturation.
• Chronic myelocytic leukemia (or chronic myeloid leukemia, myelocytic chronic leukemia) – this type of blood cancer, the course of which leads to a violation of the division of bone marrow cells and to a violation of their maturation, and these cells in this case act as younger forms of erythrocytes, platelets and leukocytes.
• Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (or acute lymphocytic leukemia, lymphoblastic acute leukemia) – the course of blood cancer in this case is characterized by a violation of the division in the bone marrow of lymphocytes, as well as a violation of their maturation.
• Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (or acute myeloid leukemia, myeloid acute leukemia) – in this case, blood cancer is accompanied by a violation of the division of bone marrow cells and a violation of their maturation, these cells act as younger forms of erythrocytes, platelets and leukocytes. Based on the type of cells involved in the pathological process, as well as on the basis of the degree of violation of their maturation, the following types of the course of this form of cancer are distinguished:
• leukemia without concomitant cell maturation;
• leukemia, in which cell maturation does not occur in full;
• promyeloblastic leukemia;
• myelomonoblastic leukemia;
• monoblastic leukemia;
• erythroleukemia;
• megakaryoblastic leukemia.

Causes of leukemia

What actually causes leukemia is currently unknown. Meanwhile, there are certain ideas on this subject, which may well contribute to the development of this disease. In particular, these are:

• Radioactive Exposure: It is noted that those people who have been exposed to significant amounts of radiation are at greater risk of acquiring acute myeloid leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or chronic myelocytic leukemia.
• Smoking.
• Prolonged contact with benzenes widely used in the chemical industry, as a result of exposure to which, accordingly, the risk of developing certain types of leukemia increases. By the way, benzene is also found in gasoline and cigarette smoke.
• Down syndrome, as well as a number of other diseases with concomitant chromosomal abnormalities - all this can also provoke acute leukemia.
• Chemotherapy for certain types of cancer can also cause the development of leukemia in the future.
• Heredity, this time, does not play a significant role in the predisposition to the development of leukemia. Extremely rare in practice, there are cases in which several members of the family get cancer in the order characteristic for the allocation of heredity as a factor that provoked it. And if it happens that such an option really becomes possible, then it mainly implies chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

It is also important to note that if you have determined the risk of developing leukemia by the listed factors, this is not at all a reliable fact for its mandatory development in you. Many people, noting for themselves even at the same time several relevant of the listed factors, meanwhile, do not encounter the disease.

Leukemia: symptoms

The manifestations of symptoms accompanying the disease we are considering, as we initially noted, are determined from the characteristics and extent of the spread of cancer cells, as well as from their total number. Chronic leukemia within the early stage, for example, is characterized by a small number of cancer cells, which for this reason can be accompanied by an asymptomatic course of this disease for a long time. In the case of acute leukemia, as we also noted, the symptoms appear early.

Let's highlight the main symptoms that accompany the course of leukemia (in acute or chronic form):

• an increase in lymph nodes (mainly those that are concentrated in the armpits or in the neck), soreness of the lymph nodes with leukemia, as a rule, is absent;
• increased fatigue, weakness;
• susceptibility to the development of infectious diseases (herpes, bronchitis, pneumonia, etc.);
• elevated temperature (without factors accompanying its changes), increased sweating at night;
• joint pain;
• enlargement of the liver or spleen, against which, in turn, a pronounced feeling of heaviness may develop in the region of the right or left hypochondrium;
• blood clotting disorders: bruising, nosebleeds, red dots under the skin, bleeding gums.

Against the background of accumulation in certain areas of the body of cancer cells, the following symptoms appear:

• confusion;
• dyspnea;
• headache;
• nausea, vomiting;
• impaired coordination of movements;
• blurred vision;
• convulsions in certain areas;
• the appearance of painful swelling in the groin area, upper limbs;
• pain in the scrotum, swelling (in men).

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia: symptoms

Leukemia in children, the symptoms of which are most often manifested in this form of the disease, mainly develops within the age of 3-7 years, moreover, it is among children that this disease, unfortunately, has received its greatest prevalence. Let's highlight the main symptoms that are relevant for ALL:

• Intoxication. Manifested in malaise, weakness, fever, weight loss is also noted. An infection (viral, bacterial, fungal or protozoal (which is somewhat less common)) can provoke a fever.
• hyperplastic syndrome. It is characterized by an actual increase in peripheral lymph nodes of all groups. Due to infiltration of the spleen and liver, they increase in size, which may also be accompanied by pain in the abdomen. Leukemic infiltration of the periosteum, in combination with tumor enlargement to which the bone marrow is exposed, can cause a feeling of aches and pain in the joints.
• anemic syndrome. Manifested in the form of symptoms such as weakness, pallor, tachycardia. In addition, bleeding gums appear. Weakness is a consequence of intoxication and actually anemia.
• An initial change in the size of the testicles (enlargement). Occurs in about 30% of cases of primary ALL in boys. Infiltrates (areas of tissue within which cellular elements are formed that are not characteristic of them, with a characteristically increased volume and increased density) can be unilateral or bilateral.
• Hemorrhages in the retina, swelling of the optic nerve. Ophthalmoscopy in this case often makes it possible to detect the presence of leukemic plaques within the fundus of the eye.
• Respiratory disorders. They are caused by an increase in lymph nodes within the mediastinal region, which, in turn, can provoke respiratory failure.
• Due to reduced immunity, damage of any type, regardless of the intensity of exposure, the area and nature of the lesion, forms a focus of infection on the skin.

As rather rare, but not excluded for this reason, manifestations, there are such complications as kidney damage that develops against the background of infiltration, and clinical symptoms in this case may be absent.

Acute myeloid leukemia: symptoms

This disease can manifest itself at any age, but most often it is diagnosed in patients after 55 years of age. Mostly, the symptoms characteristic of acute myeloid leukemia manifest themselves in a gradual manner. As the earliest sign of the disease, malaise is distinguished, and it can appear several months before the rest of the symptoms manifest themselves.

The symptoms of this disease are inherent in the previous form of leukemia and leukemia in general. So, here the anemic and toxic syndromes we have already considered are manifested, which manifests itself in dizziness, severe weakness, increased fatigue, poor appetite, as well as in fever without concomitant catarrhal phenomena (that is, without specific factors provoking it: viruses, infections, etc. .).

In most cases, the lymph nodes do not particularly change, they are small in size, painless. Their increase is rarely noted, which can determine their sizes in the range of 2.5-5 cm, with the concomitant formation of conglomerates (that is, in this the lymph nodes are soldered to each other in such a way that a characteristic “lump” appears), concentrated within the cervical supraclavicular area.

The osteoarticular system is also characterized by some changes. So, in some cases, this implies persistent pain that occurs in the joints of the lower extremities, as well as pain that is concentrated along the spinal column, as a result of which gait and movement are disturbed. Radiographs in this case determine the presence of destructive changes in various areas of localization, the phenomenon of osteoporosis, etc. Many patients experience a certain degree of enlargement of the spleen and liver.

Again, general symptoms are relevant in the form of susceptibility to infectious diseases, bruising with minor bruises or no impact at all, bleeding of various specifics (uterine, gum, nasal), weight loss and pain in the bones (joints).

Chronic myelocytic leukemia: symptoms

This disease is predominantly diagnosed in patients aged 30-50 years, and in men the disease occurs somewhat more often than in women, while in children it rarely appears at all.

In the early stages of the course of the disease, patients often complain of decreased performance and increased fatigue. In some cases, the progression of the disease can occur only after about 2-10 years (or even more) from the moment the diagnosis was made.

In this case, the number of leukocytes in the blood increases significantly, which occurs mainly due to promyelocytes and myelocytes. At rest, as with exertion, patients experience shortness of breath.

There is also an increase in the spleen and liver, resulting in a feeling of heaviness and pain in the left hypochondrium. A pronounced thickening of the blood can provoke the development of a spleen infarction, which is accompanied by increased pain in the left hypochondrium, nausea and vomiting, and fever. Against the background of blood clotting, the development of disorders associated with blood supply is not excluded, which, in turn, manifests itself in the form of dizziness and severe headaches, as well as in the form of impaired coordination of movements and orientation.

The progression of the disease is accompanied by typical manifestations: bone and joint pain, susceptibility to infectious diseases, weight loss.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia: symptoms

For a long time, the disease may not manifest itself in any way, and its progression can last for years. In accordance with the progression, the following characteristic symptoms are noted:

• Enlargement of lymph nodes (for no reason or against the background of actual infectious diseases such as bronchitis, tonsillitis, etc.).
• Pain in the right hypochondrium, resulting from an enlarged liver / spleen.
• Susceptibility to the frequent occurrence of infectious diseases due to a decrease in immunity (cystitis, pyelonephritis, herpes, pneumonia, shingles, bronchitis, etc.).
• The development of autoimmune diseases against the background of disturbances in the functioning of the immune system, which consists in the struggle of the body's immune cells with cells belonging to the body itself. Due to autoimmune processes, platelets and red blood cells are destroyed, nosebleeds, gum bleeding, jaundice develops, etc.

Lymph nodes in this form of the disease correspond to their normal parameters, however, their increase occurs when certain infections affect the body. After the source of infection is eliminated, they are reduced back to their normal state. The increase in lymph nodes mainly begins gradually, mainly changes are noted, first of all, within the cervical lymph nodes and lymph nodes of the armpits. Further, the process spreads to the mediastinum and abdominal cavity, as well as to the inguinal region. Here, symptoms common to leukemia in the form of weakness, increased fatigue and sweating are already beginning to appear. Thrombocytopenia and during the early stages of the disease are absent.

Diagnosis

The diagnosis of leukemia can be established solely on the basis of blood tests. In particular, this is a general analysis, due to which you can get a preliminary idea of ​​​​what the nature of the disease is.

For the most reliable result for the relevance of leukemia, the data obtained during the puncture are used. A bone marrow puncture is a puncture of the pelvic bone or sternum area with a thick needle, during which some bone marrow is removed for later examination using a microscope. A cytologist (a specialist who studies the results of this procedure under a microscope) will determine the specific type of tumor, the degree of its aggressiveness, as well as the volume that is covered by the tumor lesion.

In more complex cases, the method of biochemical diagnostics, immunohistochemistry, is used, with the help of which, based on the specific amount of one or another type of protein in the tumor, it is possible to almost 100% determine its inherent nature. Let us explain the importance of determining the nature of the tumor. Our body simultaneously has many cells that are constantly growing and developing, on the basis of which we can conclude that leukemia can also be relevant in their most diverse variations. Meanwhile, this is not entirely true: those that are most common have already been sufficiently studied and studied for a long time, however, the more advanced the methods for diagnosing, the more we learn about the possible varieties of varieties, the same applies to their number. The difference between tumors determines the properties characteristic of each variant, which means that this difference also concerns the sensitivity to the therapy applied to them, including in the combined types of its use. Actually for this reason, it is important to determine the nature of the tumor, on the basis of which it will be possible to determine the optimal and most effective treatment option.

Treatment

Treatment of leukemia is determined based on a number of factors accompanying it, its type, stage of development, the patient's general health and age. Acute leukemia requires an immediate start of treatment, due to which it will be possible to stop the accelerated growth of leukemic cells. It is often possible to achieve remission (often the condition is defined in this way, and not “recovery”, which is explained by the possible return of the disease).

As for chronic leukemia, it is extremely rarely cured to the stage of remission, although the use of certain therapy in its address allows you to control the course of the disease. Typically, treatment for chronic leukemia begins as soon as symptoms appear, while chronic myeloid leukemia in some cases is treated immediately after diagnosis.

The main treatments for leukemia are as follows:

• Chemotherapy. The appropriate type of medicines are used, the action of which allows you to destroy cancer cells.
• Radiotherapy or radiation therapy. The use of certain radiation (X-ray, etc.), due to which the possibility of destroying cancer cells is ensured, in addition, the spleen / liver and lymph nodes, which have undergone an increase against the background of the processes of the disease in question, are reduced. In some cases, this method is used as a previous procedure for stem cell transplantation, which is described below.
• Stem cell transplant. Due to this procedure, it is possible to restore the production of healthy cells while improving the functioning of the immune system. The procedure before transplantation can be chemotherapy or radiotherapy, the use of which allows you to destroy a certain number of bone marrow cells, as well as free up space for stem cells and weaken the immune system. It should be noted that the achievement of the latter effect plays an important role for this procedure, otherwise the immune system may start rejecting the cells transplanted to the patient.

Forecast

Each of the types of cancer is effectively (or ineffectively) treatable in its own way, respectively, the prognosis for each of these types is determined based on a consideration of the complex picture of the disease, a specific variant of the course and concomitant factors.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia and the prognosis for it, in particular, is determined on the basis of the level of leukocytes in the blood when this disease is detected, as well as on the basis of the correctness and efficiency of therapy addressed to him and on the age of the patient. Children from 2 to 10 years old often achieve a long-term remission, which, as we have already noted, if not a complete recovery, then at least determines a state with no symptoms. It should be noted that the more leukocytes in the blood when diagnosing a disease, the less likely it is to fully recover.

For acute myeloid leukemia, the prognosis is determined depending on the type of those cells that are involved in the pathological course of the disease, on the age of the patient and on the correctness of the prescribed therapy. Standard modern therapy regimens determine about 35% of cases of survival over the next five years (or more) for adult patients (up to 60 years). In this case, a trend is indicated in which the older the patient, the worse the prognosis for survival. So, patients from 60 years old can only live five years from the moment they have the disease in 10% of cases.

The prognosis for chronic myeloid leukemia is determined by the stage of its course; it progresses in a somewhat slower manner compared to acute leukemia. About 85% of patients with this form of the disease come to a pronounced deterioration after 3-5 years from the moment of its discovery. It is defined in this case as a blast crisis, that is, the last stage of the course of the disease, accompanied by the appearance of a significant number of immature cells in the bone marrow and blood. The timeliness and correctness of the applied measures of therapy determines the possibility of the patient's survival within 5-6 years from the moment of detection of this form of the disease in him. The use of modern therapy measures determines the great chances of survival, reaching a period of 10 years, and sometimes more.

As for the prognosis for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, here the survival rate varies somewhat in terms of indicators. So, some patients die in the next 2-3 years from the moment they have a disease (which occurs as a result of the development of complications in them). Meanwhile, in other cases, survival is determined at least within 5-10 years from the moment the disease is detected, moreover, it is possible to exceed these indicators until the disease passes into the terminal (final) stage of development.

If symptoms appear that may indicate the possible relevance of leukemia, it is necessary to contact a hematologist.

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Answer only if you have proven medical knowledge

Joseph Addison

With the help of exercise and abstinence, most people can do without medicine.

Which doctor to contact

If you suspect a disease such as Leukemia, you should consult a doctor: