DonorZone.com
Title
Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia(CML) - WebHealth
Description
Excerpted from the website description:
- Chronic myelogenous leukemia is diagnosed by blood screening test, a complete blood count, as well as a blood smear. The pathologist renders the final diagnosis by looking in the microscope at samples taken from bone marrow. Symptoms include lymph glands that are palpable or swollen, being tired and weak, a loss of appetite, weight loss, fever and night sweats, abdominal fullness and bloatedness. The physician can feel an enlarged spleen, enlarged lymph glands, even in the back of the abdominal cavity and along the aorta. When a skin rash is present and a high fever, this is associated with a poor prognosis. When symptoms are present and there is a very high white blood cell count, hospitalization is needed. A hematologist should be involved who will likely order a bone marrow aspirate, bone marrow biopsy, a leukocyte alkaline phosphatase, and test for the philadelphia chromosome. The prognosis depends on how many leukemia cells are present and whether thrombocytopenia, which means low platelets, anemia, meaning low red blood cell counts, are present. Treatment for chronic myelogenous leukemia consists of chemotherapy, but still has a significant mortality rate. Interferon therapy has led to significantly higher survival rates. Interferon is produced by white blood cell in response to a viral illness. Using cytogenetics the physician can monitor the progress of the CML therapy. With the help of hydroxyurea, which is a chemotherapy drug, a blast crisis can be brought under control, often in combination with interferon. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors are a new more gentle form of chemotherapy. When the CML is in remission, the hematologist needs to discuss with the patient and the family whether a bone marrow transplant should be given. As CML has developed out of a chromosomally deranged stem cell, this disease can only be successfully treated, if the last Philadelphia positive cell that has a chromosome translocation is eradicated. Only a successful bone marrow transplant has been able to achieve a cure.
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Categories:
- Abdominal Cavity
- Abdominal Fullness
- Anemia
- Aorta
- Blast Crisis
- Bloatedness
- Blood
- Blood Screening Test
- Blood Smear
- Bone Marrow
- Bone Marrow Aspirate
- Bone Marrow Biopsy
- Bone Marrow Transplant
- Cell
- Chemotherapy
- Chemotherapy Drug
- Chromosome Translocation
- Chronic
- Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia
- Complete Blood Count
- Count
- Cure
- Cytogenetics
- Enlarged Lymph Gland
- Enlarged Spleen
- Fever And Night Sweats
- For
- Hematologist
- High Fever
- Hospitalization
- Hydroxyurea
- Interferon Therapy
- Leukemia
- Leukemia Cell
- Leukocyte Alkaline Phosphatase
- Loss Of Appetite
- Low
- Low Platelet
- Lymph Gland
- Mortality Rate
- Myelogenous
- Pathologist
- Philadelphia Chromosome
- Prognosis
- Red
- Skin Rash
- Stem Cell
- Thrombocytopenia
- Tired Weak
- Treatment
- Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor
- Viral Illness
- Weight Loss
- White Blood Cell
- White Blood Cell Count