Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia

Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia General Information

Any acute leukemia evolves from a somatic hematopietic progenitor into a cell that is no longer capable to differentiate. Their functionality changes, so that they have a longer life span and being able to free clonal proliferation. The leukemic cells get into the body tissues and cause many different complications, such as pulmonary dysfunction, gingival and skin infiltration or CNS involvement. In the normal process, the blood cells are made in the bone marrow in a certain order and controlled. When we talk about Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia we must precise that this process is not controlled anymore, producing a big amount of abnormal leukemia cells that are not completely mature and as a consequence they are no longer able to become normal blood cells with a normal functionality. Sometimes, they are known as blast cells. Actually, Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia represents an unlimited production of an early myeloid cell, called immature white cells. There are cases of AML that are rarer where a big quantity of platelets and red blood cells are also produced. The bone marrow gets filled with these abnormal immature cells that take up the space needed for the normal blood cells to develop well and to be produced. Because they remain immature they do not work as they should leading to high risks of infections. Some of the cells get into the bloodstream circulating all over the whole body, causing different problems to the patient. Besides Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia, the patient has an amount of symptoms such as bruising, fever or anemia caused by the low number of red blood cells.

Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia Symptoms

The symptoms of Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia represent the effects of the leukemic cells from the bone marrow that stop the production of normal blood cells. Because the organism has an error in one process, the manifestations are incontrollable. If the origin of the symptoms is well known, where the disease comes from remains usually unknown or unclear.  People who are exposed to different levels of radiations, who smoke or take anti-cancerous drugs for a long period of time, have a higher risk to develop AML than the people who are not exposed to all these. This disorder is not caused by an inherited faulty gene, although it has been discovered that people with Down’s syndrome or other genetic disorders or with blood issues (for example myelodysplasia) can develop in time Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia. More than 45% of the patients die after this disease, especially children as a result of the resistance to any therapy or of a treatment related toxicity. The symptoms that are usually met in people with AML are: generally feelings of run-down and unwell, fever accompanied by sweats (may be also a sign of infection), unusual bleedings caused by the low number of platelets. These bleedings do not have a specific and obvious cause and include bleeding gums, heavy periods in women, easy bruising or frequent nose bleeds. Most of the patients look pale, are breathless and feel tired all the time as a result of the anemia (lack of red blood cells).  Some of them may also complain flat red marks in the mouth or on the legs.

Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia Treatment

When you go and see a doctor, if he suspects of Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia, after the examination, he will want some blood tests to check the different types and numbers of blood cells (named full blood count). If the tests show abnormal results and indicate the presence of leukemia cells, the next step should be an analysis of a sample from the bone marrow. This sample is usually taken from the pelvis (hip bone) and studied under a microscope. After these procedures, your health care provider should recommend you a hospital (a haematology unit) and a specialist in blood problems (a haematologist) for a proper treatment. Here, a multidisciplinary team, including pathologists, clinical oncologists, haematologists and specialize nurses will work together to give you the best help possible, planning the adequate treatment for you. The plan is set according to the patient’s health status, age and the type of unusual genes found in the leukemia cells. You should dispose there of the services of dietitians, physiotherapists, social workers and psychologists. It is extremely important that the doctor who will attend you to know everything about your health state, including about the previous diseases you had. Other tests that are also necessary are the checking of your heart, kidneys, lungs and liver. It is very good to seek another medical opinion concerning the treatment. Most doctors consult to each other if the form of Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia is severe and demands much more attention. Although, having a second opinion equals with loss of time while the treatment in these cases should be started fast to avoid the spreading of the disease and the complications that can occur in time. As in other treatments for other cancers, the main target when treating a patient of Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia is to make the bone marrow work normal again (to reach the remission) by destroying the leukemia cells.

Many patients with Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia are cured because if the remission of the disease is achieved, it will last an indefinite period of time. Among the many numerous and various types of treatment, chemotherapy is said to be the most effective thanks to some specific types of drugs used that are given only in combinations. In order to improve the chances of curing Acute Myeloblastic leukemia in the severe cases, the specialists use a bone marrow or stem cell transplant along the high-doses of chemo. A type of AML, more exactly acute promyelotic leukemia is treated with ATRA, a drug called all Trans retinoic acid, a specific form of vitamin A known also as tretinoin. The chemo is given only to persons only 45 years old. Some patients can not resist to an intense chemotherapy, so that they are been given a low-dose treatment given by mouth or by subcutaneous injections just to control the leukemia cells from your bone marrow. This might have a lower rate of remission. But the results of any treatment depend mostly on each individual situation so that there can be as well benefits as disadvantages.