Treatment for Leukimia

Treatment of leukemia depends on the type and level of disease and tailored for each patient. In general, chemotherapy-the use of drugs that kill rapidly dividing cells are the main treatment for acute or chronic leukemia. In acute leukemia, intensive chemotherapy and the use of some drugs, either simultaneously or sequentially, to kill the leukemia cells as possible. Antibiotics and transfusions of red blood cells and platelets help the blood to maintain a low number of patients who are dangerous because they received intensive chemotherapy.Sometimes radiation is used to shrink the collection of leukemia cells that accumulate in various parts of the body, such as the lining of the brain and spinal cord in acute lymphocytic leukemia, or in the lymph nodes in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Especially in younger patients, if doctors determine that chemotherapy alone is not likely to succeed or if the patients who relapsed after chemotherapy, allogeneic (genetically different) stem cell transplants can be performed. Chemotherapy and radiation designed to destroy all the leukemia cells in the body of the patient, but this treatment also destroys the blood-forming system in the bone marrow of patients. For this reason, the healthy stem cells, bone marrow cells that allow the formation of long-term blood, then be inserted into patients to replace blood-forming system. Stem cells must come from immunologically suitable donor, usually siblings, but if your game is not available, sometimes an unrelated donor may be sought. Previously, stem cells can only be transplanted from donor bone marrow. This procedure is known as bone marrow transplants. Cord-blood stem cells frozen, stored in a bank "," and can be used later for patients who need them. The number of stem cells in this sample may not be sufficient for larger adults and most commonly used for children or smaller adults who need transplants and in need of donors, unrelated match.Unexpected effect of allogeneic stem cell transplant is what is known as the effect of graft-versus-leukemia. Immune cells recognize the donor antigen small tissue types (proteins that produce antibodies) that is incompatible with the recipient. This donor's immune cells attack the recipient's network, including leukemia cells and normal tissue. The attack on normal tissue recipients as a disease called graft-versus-host. Graft-versus-leukemia-cells, on the other hand, is the desired effect and is responsible in part for some beneficial effects of transplantation, especially in patients who received transplants for treatment of acute or chronic myelocytic leukemia.A transplant approach called non-myeloablative stem cells are being tested on older patients. Here's a very mild pretreatment with chemotherapy or radiation is used, whereas the anti-immune therapy based on the immune system to prevent recipients from stem cells reject donor. Stock graft-versus-leukemia who relied on as a substitute for intensive therapy given before transplantation for leukemia standards.Immunotherapy is a promising new approach for treating leukemia. Antibody itself may kill leukemia cells, or radioactive substances or toxic cells attached to the antibody can kill leukemia cells, when injected intravenously into the patient. This method provides an easy way to deliver immediate radioactive or toxic substance into the leukemia cells, which may kill cells with minimal effect on healthy cells.The objective in the treatment of acute leukemia is to kill leukemia cells is sufficient to produce remission, which means that the production of red blood cells no longer suppressed, blood cell counts returned to normal, and patient symptoms decreased. Approximately 80 percent of children with acute lymphocytic leukemia can be cured. Cure rate of acute myelocytic leukemia is estimated at around 40 percent in children but much lower in adults depending on their age. In patients with active or progressive disease, new drugs and types of available monoclonal antibodies to treat disease. In chronic myelocytic leukemia, dramatic advances in therapy involves the introduction of drugs that specifically target leukemia causes changes in bone marrow cells. Young patients with diseases that have an appropriate stem cell donor can be cured by stem cell transplantation.

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