Myeloleukemia - what is it? Chronic myeloid leukemia: causes, treatment, prognosis

The development of tumor processes is gaining momentum every year. Most of the world's scientists are studying possible factors of development of the condition and the main methods of therapy for curing patients, and preventive measures are taken by all types of medical institutions. The development of the tumor process can affect any organ or system of the body. Myeloleukemia - what is it? The main causes of this disease, the methods of diagnosis and therapy will be considered further.

General concepts of

The hematopoiesis system is based on maturation of young cells - platelets, erythrocytes and white blood cells in the bone marrow. In parallel with this process, the old cells are destroyed by the liver and spleen.

Formal elements in the blood are as much as plasma. At the same time, white blood cells, leukocytes, account for the largest number. They are responsible for the body's reaction to the effects of foreign agents and compounds and allow to maintain the immune system at the proper level.

Uncontrolled production of a large number of leukocytes is called myeloid leukemia. This is a neoplastic disease that is accompanied by a critical increase in the blood flow of immature forms. Over time, the pathological forms of cells spread to all organs and systems of the body, which causes the progression of the disease.

Etiology of the disease

At this stage, unambiguous factors leading to the development of the disease are not defined. There are several versions of the emergence of a pathological condition:

1. The appearance of pathological clones is the process of development of pathological changes in the structure of stem cells. A mutation occurs, during which the cells not only acquire changes in themselves, but also transmit them to the rest of the structures, creating their clones. This condition can not be cured with the help of cytotoxic drugs.
2. Exposure to chemicals.
3. The effect of radioactive radiation on the body, which occurs not only on professional need. For example, the use of a radiation therapy in anamnesis for the treatment of another tumor.
4. Reception of cytostatics and chemotherapeutic drugs for therapy of tumors of other organs can serve as a trigger mechanism for the development of myeloid leukemia.
5. Genetic diseases, heredity.
6. Diseases having a viral genesis.

In addition, the appearance of the tumor process affects the sex, age of the patient and the effect of radiation exposure in the area of ​​residence.

Chronic form of the disease

The manifestation of the symptoms of the tumor process of the blood depends on the form of the disease. The most common form is chronic myeloid leukemia. This condition has a malignant character.

Chronic myelogenous leukemia - what is it? This is a condition that arises from the fact that an abnormal gene appears in the body that affects blood cells. The location of the gene is the bone marrow. With the blood flow, pathological cells spread to all organs.

The disease does not have an acute onset and a vivid clinical picture. It is characterized by a slow flow. The danger is that this form of the disease can go into the acute phase at any time, which can result in a fatal outcome for the patient.

Myeloid leukemia has several stages of development:

• chronic;
• accelerating stage;
• terminal stage.

The first stage of the chronic form of

Most patients are diagnosed at this stage. The onset of the disease can not be determined precisely, since it has an asymptomatic character or mild manifestations. First there is fatigue, heaviness in the stomach or in the left hypochondrium, shortness of breath.

During the meal, patients complain of a feeling of over-filling in the epigastrium. Palpable enlargement of the spleen. Inspection is accompanied by painful sensations from the side of the spleen radiating into the back. In the analysis of blood, leukocytosis is determined, which increases in dynamics, as well as thrombocytosis and an increase in the number of granulocytes.

Patients often consult a doctor when developing a spleen infarction. There is a sharp pain syndrome in its projection, symptoms of intoxication of the body, the body temperature rises.

Acceleration stage

At this stage, the disease has virtually no manifestations. The patient has no complaints, except for a periodic rise in temperature to subfebrile indicators and fatigue. The level of myelocytes and leukocytes in the blood continues to increase.

The level of basophils increases by one third. After this, patients begin to worry about the feeling of heat and the desire to itch. This is due to an increase in the production of histamine.

Acute stage( terminal)

The development of the third stage describes a clinical picture, similar to the acute course of the disease. Chronic myeloid leukemia progresses, and a vivid clinical picture appears. Patients complain of such manifestations:

• severe weakness;
• high body temperature;
• joint pain;
• a sharp decrease in the weight of the patient.

When examining a patient, you can find an increase in various groups of lymph nodes, liver, spleen, the development of hemorrhagic syndrome. The blast crisis is the final stage of the disease, characterized by the following clinical manifestations:

• of lympho- or myeloblasts becomes more 20% in the bone marrow or bloodstream;
• bone marrow biopsy determines large groups of blasts;
• development of myeloid sarcoma - a malignant tumor from immature white blood cells.

At this stage of the disease, the patient's life depends solely on the level of palliative therapy.

Acute myeloid leukemia

The clinical picture develops rapidly, has bright signs of the disease. Without the appointment of adequate therapy, the result may be unfavorable after a few weeks or months.

Acute myelogenous leukemia - what is it? This is a malignant tumor process of the myeloid germ of blood. Sick cells are not able to resist infections, although this is their main function. In parallel with the increase in blast structures, the remaining elements of the blood form decrease.

Erythropenia and hemoglobin deficiency are manifested by pallor of the skin, shortness of breath, fatigue. Reducing the number of platelets leads to an increase in the tendency of the skin to damage, increased bleeding, the appearance of petechiae and hematoma.

The first symptoms are not specific. It is very easy to confuse them with manifestations of respiratory viral infection. In addition, acute myelogenous leukemia is accompanied by the progression of pain in the bones and joints.

Diagnostic measures

The success of the treatment depends on the speed of the diagnosis and the correct diagnosis. To determine the general condition and phase of the disease of the patient, in whom suspected myeloid leukemia, the tests are conducted in the following directions:

1. Peripheral blood analysis unfolded - the level of all blood elements in the dynamics is fixed.
2. Biochemistry of blood shows abnormalities in the functioning of the liver and spleen, which are caused by the development of the disease.
3. A biopsy of the bone marrow aspirate is performed after the removal of the necessary material from the femur. The presence of blast forms is determined.
4. Hybridization allows the identification of a mutational or abnormal chromosome.
5. PCR is aimed at detecting an abnormal gene.
6. Cytogenetic analyzes are aimed at determining the abnormal chromosome in a leukemic cell.
7. If necessary, computer tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound are performed.

Principles of therapy for the disease

Myeloid leukemia requires immediate treatment. The oncologist doctor determines the scheme of therapy, based on the stage of the disease, its manifestations. At an early stage, a vitamin diet is prescribed, fortifying preparations.

Treatment of myeloid leukemia is based on the use of drugs that can act depressingly on the oncogene. Fixed assets:

• "Imatinib" - the drug inhibits the activity of protein, which is produced by the oncogene myeloid leukemia;
• "Dasatinib" - the drug is used in case of inefficiency or intolerance of Imatinib patient;
• "Nilotinib" - a remedy with a similar effect, related to the second generation of oncogenic inhibitors;
• Ponatinib is one of the new drugs, strong in its effectiveness against blast cells, but it can cause severe complications from the patient's body.

Also, to strengthen the immune system, patients are given "Interferon".The drug is not able to cope with the disease on its own, but it is used in complex therapy in the form of daily subcutaneous injections.

Chemotherapy is performed using cytostatic agents. This part of the therapy is used as an additional treatment for bone marrow transplantation. Effective are "Hydroxycarbamide", "Busulfan", "Vinblastine", "Vincristine", "Citarabin".

Irradiation in oncology is carried out with the help of high-energy rays, as well as their particles. It is applied individually, depending on the need. In myeloleukemia, radiation therapy is used to reduce pain syndromes in bones and joints. Also, irradiation with oncology of the hematopoietic system is used before bone marrow transplantation.

Transplantation of bone marrow cells

Surgical intervention is a fairly common method of treatment, but at the same time costly. Not every patient is able to afford it. Oncocenter on Kashirka - one of the famous institutes of therapy of tumor neoplasms - conducts similar surgical interventions, helping to heal its patients.

Bone marrow transplantation is not currently used as often as stem cell transplantation, which is taken from peripheral blood. There are two options for the procedure:

1. The hematopoietic cells of the donor's bone marrow are used. It can be someone from relatives, since it is difficult to find a suitable donor who would not be related to a sick person.
2. Transplantation of native peripheral cells. This procedure is complicated by the fact that together with healthy cells, blast can also be removed.

The oncological center in Kashirka not only conducts surgical interventions that have reduced patient mortality, but also uses modern methods of thermoablation, cryotherapy and radio wave surgery.

Conclusion

The article considered the term "myeloid leukemia".What it is, you now know. A favorable outcome is possible with a full course of treatment of the initial stages of the disease. The terminal stage involves exclusively palliative therapy. Late and malignant stages of the disease lead to death in patients.