CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA
Posted on November 16th, 2009 in Global Focus Cancer, Treatment
From Leukemia, Lymphoma, Myeloma, Facts 2009-2010, June 2009, an estimated 245,225 people in the United States are living with, or are in remission from, leukemia. An estimated 44,790 new cases of leukemia will be diagnosed in the United States in 2009. Chronic leukemias account for 11% more cases than acute leukemias. Most cases occur in older adults; the median patient age at diagnosis is 66 years. Leukemia is expected to strike more than 10 times as many adults as children in 2009. (About 44,790 adults compared with 3,509 children, aged 0-14 years). About 33 percent of cancers in children aged 0-14 years are leukemia. The most common cancer in children 1 to 7 years old is acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL).
The most common types of leukemia in adults are acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), with an estimated 12,810 new cases in 2009, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), with about 15,490 new cases this year. Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is estimated to affect about 5,050 persons this year. The most common type of leukemia in children is acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), which will account for about 5,760 new cases this year.
Leukemia is one of the top 15 most frequently occurring cancers in all races or ethnicities. Leukemia incidence is highest among whites (12.8 per 100,000) and lowest among American Indians/Alaskan natives (7.0 per 100,000), Asian and Pacific Islander populations (7.3 per 100,000)
Chronic Myeloid Leukemia, also known as Chronic myelogenous leukemia (is commonly called CML). It is also known as chronic myelocytic leukemia and chronic granulocytic leukemia. CML affects myeloid cells and usually grows slowly at first. It accounts for nearly 5,000 new cases of leukemia each year. It mainly affects adults. Chronic myeloid leukemia affects about 4,500 adults in the United States, with a median age of 67 at diagnosis, according to the CML Alliance. But according to curereseacrh.com, 15,000 myeloid annual cases.
CML tends to occur in middle- and retirement-aged people (the median age is 67 years). It occasionally affects people in their 20s, but it is rare in the very young; only 2% to 3% of childhood leukemias are CML. Early disease often is without symptoms (asymptomatic) and is discovered accidentally. Individuals with more advanced cases of CML may appear sickly and experience fevers, easy bruising, and bone pain. Laboratory and physical findings include enlarged spleen (splenomegaly), a high white blood cell count, and absent or low amounts of the white blood cell enzyme alkaline phosphatase.
CML is always associated with Philadelphia (Ph) chromosome. It’s an abnormal chromosome which causes CML. Normally, our chromosome doesn’t contain Ph. The Ph chromosome is caused by the translocation of genes from chromosomes 9 and 22.
The Ph chromosome causes problems because it makes a protein called Bcr-Abl. White blood cells that contain Bcr-Abl don’t work correctly and reproduce abnormally. Over time, these Ph+ cells begin to crowd out normal blood cells.
Source : cmlalliance.com
This can cause serious problems in the body. If not properly treated, Ph+ CML can be life threatening. Ph+ CML is a serious condition, but the good news is that it is treatable.
Symptom
Chronic leukemia symptoms develop slowly and are vague; they often resemble a number of other, less serious medical conditions. Fatigue and fever are common. Unexplained weight loss may occur, and individuals may develop night sweats. Other symptoms can include heightened rates of infection, easy bruising and severe bleeding.
A small percentage of people develop leucostatis due to abnormally high white blood cell levels. Leucostatis can cause headaches, confusion and dizziness and can affect the lungs and heart.
Because symptoms develop so slowly, many cases of chronic leukemia are diagnosed only when routine blood tests reveal unusual results. From there, more specific blood tests and bone marrow biopsies are used to finalize a diagnosis.
How many choices of treatment do we have? Which one is the best? And what about the prognosis, good or bad? Please continue your reading.
(continue to CAM Treatment For Leukemia)
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- PROLOG : MENELUSURI JEJAK KESEMBUHAN
- PROSES PENCANGKOKAN SEL INDUK
- PENCANGKOKAN SEL INDUK DI INDONESIA
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March 26th, 2010 at 10:25 am
This is an informative article. Cancer is so unfair, and now even children are suffering from it, at such a young age, when they have limited options.
I think the best way to start understanding Cancer is to educate yourself. Thanks for sharing this to us.
April 11th, 2010 at 10:25 am
Thank you Ethan. In Indonesia, leukemia problems are still difficult to understand. That’s why I like to share this information. In general, it would be quite informative for anyone who read this.
April 11th, 2010 at 12:21 pm
Care and healed, it is the same thing from where I am from. I’m glad there’s a lot information about leukemia nowadays. It is important to know that it can be treated, and people shouldn’t stop everything just because of leukemia.
April 18th, 2010 at 10:04 am
Yes, there’s always a treatment, but we have to know how effective that method is. I mention about the five-year relative survival rate at CAM Treatment For Leukemia, regardless they got treatments or not. And there’s one article in Bahasa Indonesia about Stem Cell, Inikah Terapi Yang Ditunggu-tunggu Itu? which wrote about stem cell transplantation to cure many kind of disease, including leukemia. Personally, this blog is not done yet to gather any selective-information about leukemia treatment. However, I still have one topic about that which is not published yet. If I write it in Indonesia Language, I hope you won’t mind to use google translator. There’s still a hope… And you’re right. People shouldn’t stop everything just because of leukemia.