Stem Cell Therapy Of Leukemia

by

Stem Cell Therapies

Stem Cell Therapy

Leukemia can be described as a cancer of the cellular components of the blood.  This disease usually starts in the bone marrow and leads to the production of a high amount of abnormal white blood cells. The white blood cells are usually not matured. These types of cells are referred to as blast cells. Some of the symptoms of leukemia include prolonged bleeding, fatigue, fever, anemia, and an increased risk of being infected by diseases. These signs and symptoms are because of the abnormal cells that are being produced by the bone marrow. This disease can be diagnosed by carrying out blood tests or taking a sample of the bone marrow for biopsy. The main cause of leukemia is not known yet, however, it has been suggested that this disease might be caused by a combination of both genetics and environmental factors. Some of the risk factors for this disease are smoking, exposure to a high amount of radiation, chemicals, chemotherapy and congenital diseases such as down syndrome. It has been observed that people who have a relative that is affected by this disease have a higher chance of having leukemia. There are 4 main types of leukemia. These are acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and chronic myeloid leukemia. Leukemia can be treated by the radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and bone marrow transplant. There has been a lot of progress by those in the stem cell business. A bone marrow transplant can now be done to replace the abnormal cells. The prognosis of the disease largely depends on the type of leukemia the patient has, the age, and the time of detection. The earlier the disease is detected, the better the prognosis.

Classification of Leukemia

  1. Acute leukemia: This can be described as a type of leukemia that is characterized by a fast increase in the quantity of immature blood cells. There is usually a lot of blast cells. The rate at which the cells are produced causes crowding in the bone marrow, impairing the ability of the bone marrow to make healthy cells. This disease requires prompt treatment. The immature cells tend to spill into the bloodstream if the disease is not well managed. When this happens, other organs of the body are usually affected, making the prognosis of the disease worse. These forms of leukemia are most prevalent in children.
  2. Chronic leukemia: This type of leukemia is characterized by a large accumulation of abnormal, but mature cells in the bone marrow. This disease usually takes a long time to develop. This duration can range from months to years. This disease can be monitored for a while, before treatment is administered, as compared to acute leukemia that requires immediate treatment. This can be attributed to the rapid rate at which the cells proliferate rapidly in acute leukemia.

Leukemia is further divided into two types. These are lymphoblastic and myeloid leukemia.

  1. Lymphoblastic leukemia: This occurs in the lineage of marrow cells that would eventually become lymphocytes. Lymphocytes are a component of the immune system, and their function is to fight infections.
  2. Myeloid leukemia: This cancer affects the lineage of marrow cells that would eventually develop to become erythrocytes, also known as red blood cells, and platelets.

Specific types of Leukemia

  1. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia: This type of cancer is most predominant in young children. It also affects adults, especially older adults; those above the age of sixty-five. This disease can be treated with radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Children tend to have a higher survival rate than older adults. According to statistics, children have an 85% of surviving this disease, as compared to about 50% in adults.
  2. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia: This disease is more prevalent in adults, especially the ones above the age of 55. However, it also occurs in younger adults, but never affect children.
  3. Acute myelogenous leukemia: This disease occurs more in adults than in children. It can be treated by administering a therapeutic dose of radiations, and chemotherapy.
  4. Chronic myelogenous leukemia: This cancer mainly affects adults, although a small fraction of children is affected too. This disease is associated with the Philadelphia chromosome. It can be treated with medications such as imatinib.

What are the signs and symptoms of Leukemia?

The most symptoms of leukemia are anemia, fever, prolonged bleeding, splenomegaly and enlargement of the liver.

  1. Prolonged bleeding: The prolonged bleeding and easy bruising are due to the low amount of platelets in the body. The rapid formation of abnormal cells in the bone marrow eventually impairs the ability of the bone marrow to produce platelets, leading to thrombocytopenia, and then bleeding.
  2. Infections: Patients tend to have a fever, and are usually easily brought down by disease. This is because of the low quantity of healthy white blood cells in the blood. The bone marrow gets crowded because of the abnormal proliferation of unhealthy cells in the bone marrow.
  3. Anemia: This occurs as a result of the low amount of red blood cells. This can be attributed to the impaired state of the bone marrow.
  4. Other symptoms of leukemia are tiredness, weight loss, swollen lymph nodes, petechiae, and so on

What are the risk factors for Leukemia?

  1. Genetics: People with a history of leukemia in their family are more predisposed to having leukemia
  2. Smoking: Smoking cigarettes increases the risk of having leukemia.
  3. Exposure to radiations and chemicals: Exposure to high amounts of radiations, and also high levels of chemicals increases the chance of developing leukemia.

How IS Leukemia Currently Treated?

The treatment of leukemia depends on many factors However, the common treatments for this disease are;

  1. Chemotherapy: This is one of the most common and effective treatments for cancer. Drugs are used for the treatment of the disease.
  2. Radiotherapy: This is a type of therapy in which radiations are used in destroying and stopping the growth of the tumor cells.

Stem Cell Therapy Of Leukemia

This is a procedure in which the abnormal bone marrow cells are replaced with healthy bone marrow. However, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are usually done to destroy and remove the unhealthy cells before the new healthy stem cells are infused.

References

Jung, Y., Bauer, G. and Nolta, J. (2011). Concise Review: Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells: Progress Toward Safe Clinical Products. STEM CELLS, 30(1), pp.42-47.

Keating, A. (2008). How Do Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Suppress T Cells?. Cell Stem Cell, 2(2), pp.106-108.

Knoepfler, P. (2009). Deconstructing Stem Cell Tumorigenicity: A Roadmap to Safe Regenerative Medicine. Stem Cells, 27(5), pp.1050-1056.

Sugarman, J. and Siegel, A. (2008). How to Determine Whether Existing Human Embryonic Stem Cell Lines Can Be Used Ethically. Cell Stem Cell, 3(3), pp.238-239.

 

 

 

Submit a Comment