What is acute myeloid leukemia?
Acute Myeloid Leukemia or AML is the cancer of the blood and bone marrow. The cancer grows rapidly. The bone marrow produces many preformed cells known as blasts. The blasts grow into white blood cells to fight infection normally. But, the blasts are not normal in Acute Myeloid Leukemia. They are not fully developed therefore they are incapable of fighting infections. The bone marrow can also produce abnormal red blood cells and platelets. The amount of leukemia cells (abnormal cells) grows rapidly. They squeeze out the normal white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets the body requires.
Acute Myeloid Leukemia Causes
Acute myeloid leukemia is one of the leading types of leukemia in adults. This type of cancer is uncommon below 40 years old. It usually happens at 60 years old in adults. It usually happens in men than women. Patients suffering from this type of cancer have abnormal cells in their bone marrow. The cells grow rapidly and take the place of normal blood cells. The bone marrow is the one responsible for fighting infections and because of this later on it will stop working well. Patients with AML become more susceptible to infections and become high risk for bleeding as the amount of normal blood cells decline.
Usually, your physician cannot tell what exactly the cause of your AML is. Nevertheless, the following factors are believed to cause several types of leukemia involving AML:
- Chemicals like benzene
- Chemotherapy drugs like etoposide and alkylating agents
- Radiation
- Gene defects
Your risk to have AML will increase if you have any of these:
- Immunosuppression brought about by organ transplantation
- Blood diseases like polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia, myelodysplasia or refractory anemia
- Radiation and chemicals exposure
Acute Myeloid Leukemia Symptoms
Usually AML comes abruptly, in days or weeks. Seldom, an individual has been sick for several months or may have a past history of Myelodysplastic syndrome.
AML brought illness mainly by hindering the normal function of the bone marrow. The abnormal cells take the place of the healthy cells and squeeze them. Therefore, they lead to low blood cell numbers. This inadequate number of red blood cells will result in anemia causing the patient to become fatigued and pale. The insufficient number of platelets can make the patient more vulnerable to bleeding and bruising particularly in the skin, nose and gums. Decreased levels of healthy white blood cells will cause the person to become vulnerable to infection. The usual common symptoms of infection involves flu-like symptoms, chest pain, difficulty of breathing, painful urination, occasional diarrhea, sepsis, and pneumonia.
Acute Myeloid Leukemia Stages
Once the disease is confirmed, medical examinations are performed to determine the leukemia stages. Acute Myeloid Leukemia is divided in three stages:
- 1. Untreated Adult AML
-the disease has been confirmed
-treatment main focus is symptomatic
- · Fever
- · Bleeding
- · Pain
-characterized by bone marrow having 20% abnormal cells
-some signs and symptoms of leukemia are present
- 2. Adult AML in remission
-leukemia has been managed
-characterized by bone marrow having less than 5% abnormal cells
-no signs and symptoms of leukemia
- 3. Recurrent AML
-leukemia has recurred after the treatment
-relapsed leukemia
Acute Myeloid Leukemia Treatment
The treatment of adult AML has two stages.
- Remission Induction Therapy
This is the initial stage of treatment. The main focus is to eradicate the leukemia cells in the blood and bone marrow. This will put the leukemia into remission.
- Maintenance Therapy
The second stage treatment. It started after the leukemia is on remission. The main focus of maintenance therapy us to eradicate the remaining inactive leukemia cells that might grow and relapse.
There are three classifications of standard treatment that can be used:
- Chemotherapy
This is a treatment for cancer that makes use of medications to inhibit the growth of leukemia cells either by means of killing the leukemia cells or stopping cell division.
This is a type of chemotherapy that can reach abnormal cells all over the body thus the word systemic. The medications can be taken orally or it can also be injected through muscle or vein.
This is a type of chemotherapy wherein the medications can only affect a particular region or area. It can be done through placing direct medications on the spinal column also known as intrathecal chemotherapy or it can also be placed on the abdomen or other body organ or cavity. Intrathecal chemotherapy is beneficial for those who have spread the cancer in their brain and spinal cord
This is a type of chemotherapy that uses more than one medication.
The choice of what type of chemotherapy will be used will depend on the subtype of cancer and if it has spread on the brain and spinal column
- Radiation therapy
A type of cancer treatment that makes use of high energy x-ray or other forms of radiation to eradicate leukemia cells
- External Radiation Therapy
This type of radiation therapy makes use of a machine outside the body to transmit radiation to the leukemia cells.
- Internal Radiation Therapy
This type of radiation therapy makes use of radioactive substances placed in needles, seeds, wires or catheters and they will be inserted toward or adjacent to the cancer.
The choice of what kind of chemotherapy will be used will rely on the type and the stage of cancer of the patient.
- Stem Cell Transplantation
This is a procedure of giving chemotherapy and substituting the cancer cells that are killed by the chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Stem cells are the immature blood cells inside the blood and the bone marrow. The stem cells will be removed from a patient or from a donor and it will be stored and frozen. After the cancer treatment is done, the frozen and stored stem cells are given to the patient with the help of infusion. The stem cells will restore the body’s cells that are destroyed by the cancer treatment.
Acute Myeloid Leukemia Prognosis
Once the signs and symptoms of leukemia leaves, you are now in remission. Complete remission usually happens in patients.
With proper management, young patients suffering from AML is likely to survive compared to those old people suffering from AML. The five year survival rate is less in old people compared to young people. Doctors say that this is maybe because the body of a person who is young can stand the powerful medicines of chemotherapy. If the AML did not relapse after five years, you are believed to be lastingly healed.