Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Acute Myeloid Leukemia – General Information

Acute Myeloid Leukemia is also known as Acute Myelohenous Leukemia, and is considered to be a cancer of the white cells, the myeloid line of them. This disease is characterized by a fast proliferation of abnormal cells that accumulates in the bone marrow, and this can lead to a deficient production of any blood cells. This type of cancer affects almost only adults, and increases with the age. Acute Myeloid Leukemia is a treatable and curable disease but only a few patients are cured with the standard therapy. The leukemia is treated in the first place with chemotherapy  to induce a remission of the cancer, but, in some cases, some patients can go on to receive a hematopoietic stem cell transplant.

In Acute Myeloid Leukemia, the stem cells usually turn into a type of immature white blood cell called myeloid blasts. The myeloid blasts in this cancer are abnormal and can not become mature into healthy white blood cells. In some cases of leukemia, there are too many cells that develop into abnormal red blood cells or platelets. These types of white blood cells, red blood cells, or platelets are commonly called leukemia cells or leukemia blasts. These types of cells can’t do their function and can build up in the bone marrow and in blood, and there is no place for the healthy blood cells: red, white, and platelets. Then the leukemia takes place, with infection, anemia, and easy bleeding, and can also spread to the other parts of the body, including the CNS (central nervous system), brain, spinal cord, and skin.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia – Symptoms

The most common symptoms of Acute Myeloid Leukemia are because of an increased number of abnormal white blood cells on the wrong place or they interfere with the production of normal blood cells in the bone marrow. A low level of white blood cell production leads to a high risk that the patient can develop any infection because the leukemic blasts are developed from white blood cells, and they don’t have any infection protection capacity. A lack of red blood cells cause anemia and the common symptoms are fatigue, paleness, and shortness of breath. A lack of platelets can provoke to easy bruising or bleeding with minor injury.

There are also early signs of Acute Myeloid Leukemia, but are usually non specific, and can be similar to those of influenza or other common illnesses. There are some official symptoms of this cancer and include fever, fatigue, weight loss or loss of appetite, shortness of breath with exertion, anemia, easy bruising or bleeding, the appearing of some flat, oval sized spots under the skin caused by bleeding, bone pain and joint pain and the recurring of infections. In some cases, patients suffering with Acute Myeloid Leukemia can present symptoms like some swelling of the gums because of infiltration of the leukemic blasts into the gum tissue. There is also the possibility of appearing a leukemic mass or tumor on the bone marrow, called chloroma, and is considered the first sign of leukemia. But there are also cases in which the patient doesn’t develop any symptoms at all, and the disease can be diagnosed during a blood test.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia – Treatment

The main treatment in the cure of Acute Myeloid Leukemia is chemotherapy, but is also used, in some cases, radiotherapy and biological therapy, that can be effective. These kinds of therapies are used to relieve the disease symptoms and to put leukemia in remission that leads to the curing of the disease.
The therapy used to treat leukemia is divided into two stages, induction and consolidation. The first stage is considered an attempt to provoke an initial remission of the leukemia. The first stage of the treatment, standard induction therapy, in the curing of Acute Myeloid Leukemia, includes two types of drugs, an anthracycline, also known as daunorubicin or idarubicin, and it is used in combination with a nucleoside analogue of this medicine called cytosine arabinoside.

This type of treatment is injected IV (intravenously), every day, for seven days, which is the most recommended trial. In the induction stage of the treatment, there can be also included anti Vomiting medications, but is usually taken during the hospital stay for the therapy, and can last for over a month. Because the chemotherapy medications can kill normal bone marrow and leukemic cells almost in the same way, the most common side effects, including Vomiting and Nausea, are the appearing of a temporary reduction of the white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. There can be a higher risk of infection development because of the lack of white cells that lowers the immunity of the body. The risk of an easy bruisability and spontaneous bleeding is also high, due to the low level of the platelets, and is in most of the cases treated by routine platelet transfusions. Because of the lack of red cell, there can appear side effects, including anemia, fatigue, shortness of breath, and a lack of energy, and is treated also by red cell transfusions, used routinely.

The second stage in treating Acute Myeloid Leukemia, is consolidation, and consists in giving to the patient repeated trials of chemotherapy, as soon he has signs of leukemia remission. This way of treatment is used to erase any microscopic signs of leukemia that aren’t detectable using the common diagnostic tools. When the patient has been diagnosed with leukemia, and also presents any adverse prognostic features, the stem cell transplantation is the first option instead of consolidation chemotherapy. This type of treatment can also be used to cure Acute Myeloid Leukemia when it has recurred after a standard chemotherapy treatment. There are also some alternatives to the common therapies for some patients suffering with leukemia, and is important to know this fact. If one of the patients is old, there is a low chance to cure Acute Myeloid Leukemia and it should be taken in consideration palliative and supportive attention, which is a reasonable option. Radiation therapy is also a way to treat this disease, and uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill any existing cancer cells. This type of radiation has two types of radiation therapy, an external radiation used outside the body, and internal radiation therapy which uses a substance sealed in needles, seeds, wires, or catheters that are located in the cancer area.