What is the treatment for Leukaemia?
Acute leukemia is mainly treated with chemotherapy, steroids, radiotherapy and, if necessary, peripheral stem cell or bone marrow transplantation.
Chemotherapy
Use anti-cancer drugs to kill cancer cells and stop them from multiplying. Different chemotherapy treatments will have different side effects. The treatment and effects of chemotherapy are systemic. During the process, not only cancer cells are eliminated, normal cells are also eliminated to different extent. This may result in various side effects.
Chemotherapy can be divided into three stages:
- Induction chemotherapy
To achieve remission, which means there are no signs of blood cancer cells in the bone marrow and blood
- Consolidation chemotherapy
When remission is achieved, treatment will enter consolidation phase, which lasts for 4-8 cycles, depending on the type of disease
- Maintenance chemotherapy
Maintain remission and reduce the chance of relapse
In addition to intravenous infusion, chemotherapy drugs are sometimes injected into patients in need through spinal route to prevent disease spreading to the central nervous system or to treat diseases in the brain or spinal cord. In addition, radiation therapy to the head is sometimes given.
During chemotherapy, if the effect is not satisfactory, the doctor will evaluate the situation and switch treatment to another chemotherapy regimen until the disease is controlled or even eliminated. Due to the long course of treatment and the possibility of complications, patients need to undergo frequent blood tests. The patient may need to receive blood transfusions or other blood products, such as platelets, or may need to be hospitalized and receive medication such as antibiotics.
To avoid damage to blood vessels and repeated needle insertion, patients are usually asked to have a central venous catheter implanted in the chest or arm to reduce the pain caused by repeated blood taking and intravenous injections.
Steroid treatment
Steroids are often used along with chemotherapy.
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy is less commonly used to treat acute leukemia. If needed, it is often used to irradiate the head before allogeneic stem cell transplantation. The length of the treatment depends on the patient's physical condition. Generally, the patient receives five to ten irradiations within one or two weeks. Side effects of radiation therapy include nausea, vomiting, fatigue, changes in taste and smell, drowsiness, hair loss, etc. Most side effects are temporary and symptoms improve with time. However, some of them may be permanent.
Peripheral blood stem cell or bone marrow transplant
For higher-risk leukemia patients, after the disease is in remission, doctors may recommend peripheral blood stem cell or bone marrow transplantation based on the risk of relapse, age, availability of suitable bone marrow donors, and health status.