for ur0.us link to siimpler.best What You Need To Know About Hematology Oncology?

Hematology-oncology is a field of medicine that has to do with the diagnosis, treatment, and the prevention of blood diseases, and cancer-related to blood. This field also involves the research of blood diseases and blood cancer conditions. Examples of hematology-oncology include iron deficiency anemia, hemophilia, sickle cell disease and so on. Although hematology and oncology are two different fields. On the one hand, hematology is one of the branches of medicine that is focused on the cause, diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and research of diseases related to blood.

On the other hand, oncology is the field of medicine that deals with the cause, diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and research of cancer. An individual that focuses on the study of both blood diseases and cancer is referred to as a specialist in hematology-oncology. Hematology is the study of blood, and its disorders while oncology is the study of cancer. A specialist in this field does specialize in the treatment of blood cancers, such as leukemia, Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, multiple myeloma and so on. They may also specialize in the treatment of solid tumors. The route to becoming a Hematologist-Oncologist is by going into the residency, which usually lasts for about 2 to 4 years. This residency includes both outpatient and inpatient rotations. During this training, the individual is exposed to different ways of managing different types of cancer, and blood disorders. However, most of the hematology-oncology graduate end up focusing on just the oncology part. They do have a good grasp of the two fields and are better positioned and qualified to treat any disease that cuts across the two fields

What Does A Hematologist Diagnose?

As earlier mentioned, hematology is the study of blood. The blood has both the cellular and the non-cellular components. The cellular components have the red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Any imbalance in the level of any of the components would affect the health of the patients. These diseases can incapacitate the patient, and even lead to death in severe cases. Some of the common blood disorders a hematologist can diagnose include anemia, bleeding disorders, which includes hemophilia, leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma. Although a hematologist can diagnose blood cancers, a hematologist-oncologist is more suited to treat the disease.

Below are some examples of hematology diseases;

Anemia

Anemia is a condition in which there is a reduction in the number of red blood cells or hemoglobin in the blood. Anemia is a condition that occurs slowly. Some of the signs and symptoms of this disease include weakness, fatigue, shortness of breath, and inability to exercise. Anemia can also occur rapidly, especially if the patient has a blood loss. Some of the signs and symptoms of this include confusion, loss of consciousness, and thirst. However, the disease has to be signed before the affected individual can go pale. There are three main types of anemia. They include:

Anemia due to blood loss.
Increased breakdown of red blood cell
Reduced production of red blood cells.

The causes of this disease include mechanical trauma, chronic bleeding and so on. The causes of the reduced production of red blood cells include iron deficiency, lack of Vitamin b12, neoplasms, and genetic causes. On the other hand, the causes of the increased breakdown of red blood cells include conditions such as sickle cell anemia, malaria, some autoimmune diseases and so on. Anemia is the most prevalent blood condition in the United States. It affects everyone regardless of age, race or gender. Most forms of anemia can be treated. For example, pregnant women are administered iron pills to prevent them from developing anemia. Also, blood transfusion is also given, however, this is dependent on the signs and symptoms of the patient. Mostly, they are given when the hemoglobin level of the patient is between 6 to 8g/Dl. There are also some procedures that can stimulate the production of red blood cells in the bone marrow. This is done in severe cases of anemia.

What Are The Causes Of Anemia?

When the body doesn’t make enough red blood cells.
When the body loses a lot of red blood cells faster than it can replace it.
When the body destroys red blood cells, may be due to autoimmunity.

What Are The Signs And Symptoms Of Anemia?

Tiredness: Tiredness occurs due to the insufficient amount of red blood cells. The red blood cells are responsible for transporting oxygen. A reduction in the number of red blood cells will lead to anemia, which eventually leads to easy fatigability.
Increased and irregular heart rate: This is also known as tachycardia. Patients have a heart rate that is more than 100 beats per minute.
Skin pallor: Patients affected by aplastic anemia commonly presents with pale skin. This might be attributed to the reduced number of red cells and hemoglobin in the blood.
A headache
Dizziness: This occurs due to the low amount of hemoglobin or red blood cells. The red blood cells are responsible for carrying oxygen.
Chest pain
Cold extremities: This includes the hands and the feet.

What Are The Types Of Anemia?

There are different types of anemia. These include;

Iron deficiency anemia: This is the most common type of anemia. Iron deficiency anemia occurs as a result of insufficiency of iron in the body. The bone marrow needs to make hemoglobin. Without a sufficient amount of iron, the body would not be able to produce the needed hemoglobin for red cell production.
Vitamin deficiency anemia: Besides iron, the body also needs folate and vitamin B-12 to produce enough healthy red blood cells. A diet lacking in these and other key nutrients can cause decreased red blood cell production. Also, some people may consume enough B-12, but their bodies aren’t able to process the vitamin. This can lead to vitamin deficiency anemia, also known as pernicious anemia. Pernicious anemia is an autoimmune disease.
Anemia of chronic disease: There are some diseases that can interfere with the production of red blood cells. Examples of such diseases include cancer, HIV/AIDS, rheumatoid arthritis, kidney disease, Crohn’s disease and other chronic inflammatory diseases.
Aplastic anemia: Aplastic anemia is a blood disease in which the body stops producing new sufficient blood cells. This blood condition occurs when the bone marrow and the hematopoietic stem cells are impaired. This disease leads to a deficiency in the amount of all the blood cell types such as red blood cells, platelets and also white blood cells.

Treatment Of Anemia

The treatment of largely depends on the cause. Below are some of the treatments of anemia;

Iron deficiency anemia: Iron deficiency anemia is one that can be treated by administering iron supplements, and modifying one’s diet. In cases where the cause is chronic bleeding, for example, menstruation, the bleeding has to be stopped.
Vitamin deficiency anemia: Vitamin supplements are administered for this purpose. This includes vitamin B-12 and folic acid.
Aplastic anemia: The treatment of this disease depends largely on the severity of the condition. For the mildly severe aplastic anemia, the physician might need to observe, while for serious cases, blood transfusion and medications might need to be administered.

Oncology

Oncology is the branch of medicine that focuses on the cause, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the body. There are different types of cancer. Studies have shown that there are over 200 types of cancer. Cancer occurs when a normal body cell grows to become an abnormal cell. This cell may then grow, to spread to other parts of the body. There are different causes of cancer. This includes heredity, exposure to radiations, chemical toxins, and so on. However, hematology-oncology has to do with blood cancers. The blood is made of various types of cells. These cells perform different functions. Blood has both cellular and non-cellular components. However, the majority of these come from hematopoietic stem cells in the bone. The cellular component of the blood consists of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. The function of the red blood cell is to transport oxygen and nutrients, while the white blood cells help the body fight off infections. On the other hand, platelets help in the formation of blood clots, which prevents people from bleeding out, especially after injuries. The hematopoietic stem cells are capable of differentiating into any type of blood cells. Blood cancer occurs due to a problem in the differentiation of these cells. This can lead to the excess production of immature blood cells, which would not carry out their functions successfully. Blood cancer affects a lot of people. According to statistics, an individual is diagnosed every 14 minutes in the United Kingdom. Blood cancer can be divided into 3 parts. This includes;

Leukemia
Lymphoma
Multiple myelomas

The prognosis of this conditions is better when diagnosed early. This is why it’s important to go for regular check-ups. These type of blood cancers would be explained in the course of this article.

What is Leukaemia?

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 leading 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 the 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

Classification of Leukemia

Acute leukemia: This can be described as a type of leukemia that is characterized by a fast increase in the number 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 These forms of leukemia are most prevalent in children.
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.

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.
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

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 by radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Children tend to have a higher survival rate than older adults. According to statistics, children have 85% of surviving this disease, as compared to about 50% in adults.
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.
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.
Chronic myelogenous leukemia: This cancer mainly affects adults, although a small fraction of children are affected too. This disease is associated with the Philadelphia chromosome. It can be treated with medications such as imatinib.

Lymphoma

Lymphoma is a type of blood cancer that involves the cells of the immune system, also known as lymphocytes. These cells belong to the reticuloendothelial system. They are usually found in organs such as the spleen, thymus, lymph nodes, and so on. These lymphocytes will grow out of control. There are two main types of lymphoma. These are non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Hodgkin lymphoma. The non-Hodgkin lymphoma is the most popular type of lymphoma.

Hodgkin lymphoma is an uncommon cancer that develops in the lymphatic system, which is a network of vessels and glands spread throughout your body. There are two types of lymphoma; they include Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Hodgkin’s lymphoma is more common than the non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. This blood disorder can affect people of any age group. However, it’s more prevalent among people between the ages of 20 and 40 years old. In Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the cells in the lymphatic system develop abnormally, and might also move from where they are to other parts of the body. Some of the symptoms of this disorder include fever, loss of weighing and night sweats. Also, the patient would experience an enlargement of the lymph nodes, especially in the neck, axilla, and the groin. The most common and prevalent cause of Hodgkin’s lymphoma is the Epstein-Barr virus. However, there are some other risk factors that could also cause the disease. Some of them are HIV/AIDS. This medical condition can be diagnosed by identifying the special and abnormal cell, called the Reed- Sternberg cells in lymph nodes. Hodgkin’s lymphoma is not an easy condition to manage. However, there are some treatment procedures that are usually performed. They include radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and stem cell transplant. On the other hand, non-Hodgkin lymphoma can be described as a type of cancer that develops in the lymphoid system. They include all types of lymphoma except Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Some of the signs and symptoms of Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma include fever, night sweats, fatigue, and swollen lymph nodes. Other symptoms that patients present are itchiness of the skin, chest pain, bone pain, and so on. Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma could either be progressed rapidly or slowly.

Multiple Myeloma

Multiple myelomas is a type of cancer that affects plasma cells, a type of white blood cell. Plasma cells help the body fight infections by producing antibodies. These antibodies attacks and fights off micro-organisms. However, in multiple myeloma, the bone marrow produces an excess amount of plasma cells. They tend to crowd out the other healthy blood cells, that gets produced from the bone marrow. The disease doesn’t present with any symptoms initially but manifests in the advanced and later stages. Some of the signs and symptoms of this disease include bone pain, bleeding, regular infections, anemia and so on. The exact cause of this disease isn’t known yet. However, there are some factors that increase the risk of developing the disease. Some of the factors include obesity, exposure to large doses of radiation, family history, chemical toxins and so on. Multiple myelomas can be diagnosed by evaluating the blood and urine samples. Bone marrow biopsy can also be done.

What Are The Signs And Symptom S Of Multiple Myeloma?

This disease usually affects many organ systems of the body. This is why the signs and symptoms might differ in people. However, the general symptoms of the disease can be identified with the synonym CRAB. This stands for elevated Calcium, Renal failure, Anemia, and Bone lesions. This disease also gives room for opportunistic diseases, mainly as a result of the compromised immune system. Multiple myelomas also lead to the loss of weight. Below are the symptoms in details;

Bone pain: This occurs in up to seventy percent of all multiple myeloma cases. It is also the most prevalent symptom. This pain occurs in the bones of the thorax, and even the vertebrae. The pain tends to become worse with exertion and activity. A local pain that is persistent might be an indication of a pathological fracture. This disease if unmanaged might eventually lead to the compression of the spinal cord, and vertebral deformity such as kyphosis. This bone pain is mostly a result of the overactivity and expression of the RANKL of the osteoclasts. The function of the osteoclast is to resorb the bones. This is evident in X-ray, as it presents as punched-out lesions on the skull. This leads to the release of calcium into the blood, presenting as hypercalcemia. The patient would also present with symptoms of hypercalcemia.
Anemia: Patient usually presents with normocytic and normochromic anemia. This happens because the bone marrow has been infiltrated with multiple myeloma cells. These abnormal cells replace the cells that normally produce the red blood cells.
Renal failure: This might occur in the short term, and also might be chronic. Kidney failure occurs as a result of the secretion of excess proteins by the malignant cells. The multiple myeloma cells produce monoclonal proteins of different types. These proteins are usually immunoglobulins and free light chains, which eventually lead to high levels of protein in the blood. These proteins might be passed out through the kidney. However, this largely depends on the size of the proteins. The kidneys can be destroyed by the effects of this kind of proteins and light chains. The elevated bone resorption of the bone also leads to abnormally high levels of calcium in the blood and might lead to nephrocalcinosis, that might lead to renal failure. Light chain accumulation in the body can also lead to Fanconi syndrome, although this is rare.

What To Do When You Think You At Risk Of Developing A Blood Disease Or Cancer?

There are some people with an increased risk of developing blood disease or cancer. This includes people with a history of blood disease or cancer in their family. In addition, those exposed to chemical toxins, radiations regularly should go for a frequent medical checkup. The earlier the disease is diagnosed, the better the prognosis.

References

Hawley, R. (2012). The Cancer Stem Cell Conundrum in Multiple Myeloma. Journal of Stem Cell Research & Therapy, 02(05).

Giralt (2012). Stem cell transplantation for multiple myeloma: current and future status. Haematology

Maisnar, V., Radocha, J., Jebavy, L., Zak, P., Kmonicek, M. and Maly, J. (2009). A394 Stem Cell Transplantation in Multiple Myeloma: One Center Experience. Clinical Lymphoma and Myeloma, 9, pp.S63-S64.

u, J. and Li, Y. (2013). A new hope for patients suffering from multiple myeloma. Stem Cell Research & Therapy, 4(6), p.144.