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Leukemia : Blood Cancer
Leukemia : Blood Cancer administrator 2 Views • 2 years ago

http://leukemiabloodcancer.blogspot.com/ Visit my blog to get valuable information regarding leukemia / blood cancer. The latest research findings, and more. Leukemia, Blood Cancer

Treating Chronic Myeloid Leukemia by Phase
Treating Chronic Myeloid Leukemia by Phase administrator 2 Views • 2 years ago

Treating Chronic Myeloid Leukemia by Phase<br />Treatment options for people with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) depend on the phase of their disease (chronic, accelerated, or blast phase), their age, other prognostic factors, and the availability of a stem cell donor with matching tissue type.<br /><br />Chronic phase<br />The standard treatment for chronic phase CML is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) like imatinib (Gleevec), nilotinib (Tasigna), dasatinib (Sprycel), or bosutinib (Bosulif). If the first drug stops working or it never really worked well at all, the dose may be increased or another TKI might be tried. Ponatinib (Iclusig) is an option after all of the other TKIs have been tried or if the leukemia cells later develop the T315I mutation.<br /><br />Switching to another TKI is also an option if a person can't take the first drug because of side effects.<br /><br />Rarely, people in chronic phase may be treated with an allogeneic stem cell transplant (SCT). This treatment is discussed in detail in Stem Cell Transplant for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia.<br /><br />Monitoring treatment results<br />Monitoring the patient to see how they respond to treatment is very important. Blood counts are checked often. The blood is also checked with a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test to measure the amount of the BCR-ABL gene. The bone marrow is checked, too, to see if the Philadelphia chromosome is there. Testing for the BCR-ABL gene or the Philadelphia chromosome is usually done about 3 months after a TKI is started, and then every 3 to 6 months after that. If the results show that treatment is working well, the patient stays on their current drug. If the results show that treatment isn’t working well, and the patient is taking the drug the way they should, a new drug or treatment may be needed.<br /><br />If the CML is responding well to treatment, 3 months after starting treatment, the patient should have:<br /><br />A complete hematologic response (CHR), and<br />Some type of cytogenetic response, and/or<br />A reduction of the number of copies of BCR-ABL on the PCR test by 90% or more<br />If treatment is working well, 18 months after starting treatment, the patient should have:<br /><br />A complete hematologic response (CHR), and<br />A complete cytogenetic response (CCyR), and/or<br />A major molecular response (MMR)<br />For more on these different types of response, see How Do You Know If Treatment for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Is Working?<br /><br />How often is treatment successful?<br />Up to about 70% of people have a complete cytogenetic response (CCyR) within 1 year of starting imatinib, and the rate of CCyR is even higher with other TKIs. After a year, even more patients will have had a CCyR. Many of these patients also have a complete molecular response (CMR).<br /><br />But even in patients in whom the BCR-ABL gene can no longer be found while on treatment, it’s often not clear if they are cured, so most people need to stay on a TKI indefinitely.

What is Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia?
What is Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia? administrator 2 Views • 2 years ago

Inside the hollow area of the bones is a spongy core called bone marrow. It is here, that stem cells are produced. Stem cells are immature cells that can develop into components of blood: red blood cells, which carry oxygen to the body, white blood cells, or lymphocytes, which fight infection, and platelets, which help blood to clot. Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) is a cancer of the white blood cells in the blood and bone marrow. CML develops from an acquired genetic abnormality. During cell division, some of the DNA from chromosome #9 is transferred to chromosome #22. This change is called the “Philadelphia chromosome.” When this abnormality occurs, the body signals too many stem cells to develop into a type of white blood cell called a granulocyte. Some of these granulocytes never mature. The immature granulocytes are called blasts. As the cancerous granulocytes and blasts multiply in the blood and bone marrow, fewer healthy white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets are produced. Since the spleen also produces white blood cells, the cancerous cells can also develop in the spleen. Chronic Myeloid Leukemia develops slowly. Common symptoms are anemia, weight loss, fever, and an enlarged spleen. The current forms of treatment for patients with CML include: chemotherapy, radiation, stem cell transplantation, and surgery to remove the spleen. Prognosis depends on factors such as stage of disease and the age and overall health of the patient. Your doctor is the best source of information regarding treatment for your condition. It is important to discuss with your doctor which therapy, if any, is most appropriate for you.

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