Acute myeloid leukemia, also known as AM, is a type of cancer that affects blood cells and begins in the bone marrow, which is the organ responsible for the production of blood cells. This type of cancer is more likely to recover when diagnosed in its initial stage, when there is still no metastasis and causes symptoms such as weight loss and swelling of the tongue and stomach, for example.
Acute myeloid leukemia proliferates very quickly and can occur in people of all ages, but it is more common in adults because cancer cells accumulate in the bone marrow and are released into the bloodstream, where they are sent to other organs. , such as the liver, spleen or central nervous system, where they continue to grow and develop.
- Treatment of acute myeloid leukemia can be done in the cancer hospital and is very intense for the first 2 months.
- And it takes at least 1 year of additional treatment for the disease to heal.
The most common symptoms of acute myeloid leukemia include
Acute myeloid leukemia is a type of blood cancer that most often affects adults and can be diagnosed after blood tests, lumbar puncture, and bone marrow biopsy.
Diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia is based on a person’s symptoms and test results, such as blood formula, bone marrow analysis, and molecular and immunohistochemical tests. Thanks to the blood formula count, it is possible to observe a decrease in the number of white blood cells, the presence of circulating immature white blood cells and a lower number of red blood cells and platelets. To confirm the diagnosis, it is important that the myelogram is performed, in which it is performed from the puncture and collection of a bone marrow sample, which is analyzed in the laboratory. Understand how the myelogram is performed.
To identify the type of acute myeloid leukemia, it is important that molecular and immunohistochemical tests are performed to identify the characteristics of cells in the blood that are characteristic of the disease, this important information being important to determine the prognosis of the disease and indicated by the doctor. the most appropriate treatment.
Once the type of AML is identified, your doctor can determine the prognosis and determine your chances of recovery. The AML can be classified into certain subtypes, namely:
M7 – Mega-Cynical Leukemia
Treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) should be indicated by an oncologist or hematologist and may be done using various techniques, such as chemotherapy, medication, or bone marrow transplantation:
Treatment for acute myeloid leukemia begins with a type of chemotherapy called induction, which aims to remission of cancer, which means reducing diseased cells until they are detected in blood tests or myelogram, which is the test of the drawn blood. directly from the bone marrow.
This type of treatment is indicated by the hematologist, is performed in an external consultation of a hospital and is performed by applying medicines directly to the vein, through a catheter placed on the right side of the chest called port-a-cath or by an access in a vein in the arm.
In most cases of acute myeloid leukemia, your doctor recommends that the person receive a variety of medications, called protocols, which are mainly based on the use of medications such as citarabin and idarrubicin, for example. These protocols are performed in phases, with days of intense treatment and a few days of rest, which allow the person’s body to recover, and the number of times to be performed depends on the severity of the AML.
Some of the most common medications to treat this type of leukemia may include:
Cladribine
Your doctor may also recommend the use of corticosteroids, such as prednisone or dexamethasone, as part of the treatment protocol for acute myeloid leukemia. Some research is being developed to ensure that new medications such as capecitabine, lomustine and guadeccitabine are also being used to treat this disease.
In addition, after remission of the disease through chemotherapy, your doctor may indicate new types of treatment, called consolidation, that ensure that all cancer cells have been removed from the body. This consolidation can be done by high-dose chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation.
Treating acute myeloid leukemia with chemotherapy reduces the amount of white blood cells in the blood, which are the body’s defense cells, and the person has low immunity, making it more vulnerable to infection. Therefore, in some cases, the person should be admitted to the hospital during treatment and should use antibiotics, antiviral and antifungals to prevent infections. And yet, it is common for other symptoms to appear, such as hair loss, swelling of the body and spotted skin. Learn about other side effects of chemotherapy.
Radiation therapy is a type of treatment that uses a machine that emits radiation to the body to destroy cancer cells. However, this treatment is not widely used for acute myeloid leukemia and is only applied in cases where the disease has spread to other organs. , such as the brain and testicles, for use before bone marrow transplantation or to relieve pain in a bone area engulfed by leukemia.
Before starting radiation therapy sessions, your doctor develops a plan, reviewing the CT images to define the exact location where radiation is to arrive in your body and then marked on your skin, with a specific pen, to indicate the correct position on the radiation therapy device, and so that all sessions are always in the marked location.
Like chemotherapy, this type of treatment can also cause side effects, such as fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, sore throat and skin changes similar to sunburn. Learn more about caring during radiation therapy.
Bone marrow transplantation is a type of blood transfusion from hematopoietic stem cells extracted directly from the bone marrow of a compatible donor, either by hip blood aspiration surgery or by an afeares, which is a machine that separates blood stem cells through a catheter in the vein. .
This type of transplant is usually performed after high doses of chemotherapy or radiation therapy drugs and only after no cancer cells are detected in the tests. There are several types of transplantation, such as autologous and allogeneic, and the indication is made by the hematologist based on the characteristics of the person’s acute myeloid leukemia. Learn more about the bone marrow transplant procedure and the different types.
Targeted therapy is the type of treatment that uses drugs that attack diseased cells with leukemia with specific genetic changes, which causes fewer side effects than chemotherapy. Some of these medicines used are:
In addition, other drugs that act on specific genes are also used as BCL-2 gene inhibitors, such as venetoclax, for example. However, other modern remedies based on helping the immune system fight leukemia cells, known as immunotherapy, are also highly recommended by hematologists.
Monoclonal antibodies are immunotherapy drugs created as immune system proteins that act by adhering to and destroying the wall of AML cells. Gemtuzumab is a type of medicine highly recommended by doctors to treat this type of leukemia.
Gene therapy with the Car T-Cell technique is a treatment option for people with acute myeloid leukemia that involves extracting cells from the immune system, called T cells, from a person’s body and sending them to the lab. In the lab, these cells are modified and substances called CAR are introduced so that they can attack cancer cells.
After being treated in the lab, T cells are replaced in the person with leukemia so that, modified, they destroy cancer-stained cells. This type of treatment is still under study and is not available through the SUS. Find out how Car T-Cell therapy is performed and what can be treated.
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