The diagnosis of leukemia is a shock for most people. Blood cancer is considered an aggressive and difficult-to-treat disease. However, it is not necessarily a death sentence. If the diagnosis is made in good time and treatment is started early , there is a chance of recovery. Especially for young people.
You can find out which therapy is used and when in the following article. Find selected specialists for leukemia therapy here.
Leukemia therapy is used when doctors diagnose blood cancer. They adapt the leukemia therapy to the individual patient and the type of leukemia.
Leukemia therapies can vary greatly. They do not take place in different settings (outpatient or inpatient). They differ greatly in terms of the drugs used, surgical procedures and other methods.
In addition, the composition of the individual therapy concepts depends on the progress of the disease.
All forms of leukemia require treatment as they lead to death relatively quickly. In all forms of leukemia, there is uncontrolled growth of immature blood cells. However, different stages of blood cell development and different blood cells can be affected. There are therefore different forms of leukemia.
Figuratively speaking, the disease is a flooding of the blood with the uncontrolled growth of immature blood cells. Over time, these leukemic blasts displace the healthy, fully mature blood cells in the bone marrow. This is problematic because no more new healthy blood cells enter the blood to replace the old cells.
The immature blasts displace the healthy blood cells, so to speak. The blood therefore contains more and more blood cells with which nothing can be done.
This results in symptoms that affect almost the entire body. The blasts enter the various organs of the body via the blood and accumulate there. This in turn leads to local symptoms.
In leukemia, there is a greatly increased number of white blood cells in the blood @ elenabsl /AdobeStock
Doctors distinguish between two important forms of leukemia: acute and chronic leukemia.
Acute forms occur suddenly and are characterized by a severe and short course of the disease. If left untreated, they lead to death within a few weeks.
Chronic forms of leukemia progress gradually and remain undetected for longer.
Experts make a further distinction according to the cells that are affected:
The necessary treatments differ significantly depending on the form and stage of the leukemia. The following therapies are mainly used for acute forms of leukemia:
As part of chemotherapy, which is usually the central component of treatment, doctors administer cytostatic drugs. These agents inhibit cell growth and thus ensure that the immature blood cells do not continue to multiply uncontrollably.
Doctors administer chemotherapy in several cycles. They take breaks between chemotherapies to give the healthy cells time to recover. After all, they are also affected by the cytostatic drugs.
Not all leukemic blasts can be eliminated by chemotherapy. In particular, those that are already in the brain do not respond.
This is why doctors also irradiate the skull. In some cases, the chest area is also irradiated. The radiation used kills the blasts.
Another approach is to replace the diseased bone marrow with healthy bone marrow. This is done as part of a stem cell transplant. Doctors administer purified blood stem cells from a donor to the patient.
In chronic myeloid leukemia, two special drugs are used in addition to chemotherapy and stem cell transplants:
Interferon α has an immunomodulating effect and ensures that the immune system begins to fight the leukemia cells on its own. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors, on the other hand, prevent the permanent cell division of the diseased cells.
The treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia differs once again from that described above. In this case, doctors generally wait and observe the patient closely: many patients remain asymptomatic for years; therapy does not make sense at this stage.
If there is a deterioration, doctors also use chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation. In addition, antibodies that specifically target the leukemia cells are used in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
Aftercare is of great importance in leukemia therapy. The main aim is to make patients fit for everyday life again and to detect relapses at an early stage. Regular follow-up examinations are therefore highly recommended.
In addition:
Leukemia therapy is not without side effects:
The prognosis after treatment depends heavily on the form and progression of the disease as well as the age of the patient:
