LEUKEMIA SURGERY, SUPPORT, AND MEDICINE IN ANCHORAGE, AK

PROVIDING QUALITY TREATMENT FOR LEUKEMIA PATIENTS

Leukemia is a type of cancer that can affect your blood cells. Leukemia can take many forms, depending on which blood cells are impacted. Treatment options for leukemia vary depending on the disease's features. Leukemia type and extent are assessed using a number of clinical diagnostic techniques. A rudimentary grasp of normal blood cell formation is helpful in understanding leukemia and its therapy. The staff at Alaska Oncology and Hematology, LLC in Anchorage, AK, is here to help.

UNDERSTANDING WHAT LEUKEMIA IS AND WHAT IT DOES

Three basic types of blood cells and a fluid known as plasma make up normal blood. Apart from water, minerals, proteins, and antibodies are also present in plasma. White blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets are the three main types of blood cells. Every kind of blood cell has a certain purpose. Leukocytes, another name for white blood cells, aid the body in battling infections and other illnesses. The erythrocytes, or red blood cells, account for half of the volume of blood. They have hemoglobin, which travels to the body's organs after being taken up from the lungs. Thrombocytes, or platelets, aid in the formation of blood clots to stop bleeding.

The spongy area inside the bones, known as the bone marrow, is where blood cells are made. Hematopoiesis is the term for the process of creating new blood cells. A type of cell known as a stem cell is the source of all blood cells. Differentiation is the process by which stem cells become certain adult blood cells. Blasts are the earliest immature cells that develop into adult blood cells. After the cells reach maturity, they are discharged into the bloodstream, where they carry out their specific roles and circulate throughout the body. There are enough stem cells in healthy people to make new blood cells all the time. Mature blood cells are normally produced in an organized manner.


The body creates a lot of aberrant or immature blood cells when leukemia strikes. Compared to healthy blood cells, leukemia cells behave and look differently, and they frequently cannot carry out their specified tasks. Depending on the type of white blood cell impacted, leukemias are classed as either lymphocytic or myelocytic when they attack white blood cells. The rate at which leukemia progresses is another way to categorize the illness. Acute leukemia is a type of leukemia characterized by rapid development and immature cells that fail to completely mature. When leukemia is described as chronic, the abnormal cells accumulate more slowly and the cells are more mature. Leukemia can impact other organs despite being a blood cancer. Acute leukemias can cause abnormal cells to gather in the skin, testicles, central nervous system, or any other organ in the body. On the other hand, leukemia is most frequently found in the bone marrow and blood.

Bone Marrow Aspirate and Biopsy

Since the bone marrow is the final site of genesis for all blood cells, a bone marrow examination that includes a bone marrow aspirate and biopsy might provide important information about leukemia diagnosis and treatment. When performing bone marrow aspirates and biopsies, patients usually lie face down on the hip bone. To numb the biopsy site, patients get an anesthetic subcutaneously. The doctor inserts a needle under the skin into the center of a bone, usually the hip bone, and extracts a tiny amount of marrow, or aspiration. A biopsy is performed after that, in which the doctor takes a tiny sample of bone and bone marrow from the same location where the aspirate was taken. Generally, the process causes pressure and very mild pain to the patient. Under a microscope, the extracted cells and the bone marrow biopsy are examined, and specific tests are carried out to determine the type of blood cell that is malignant and the extent of the cancer.


Chromosome Abnormalities

Chromosomal abnormalities are found by examining cancer cells to see if certain genetic abnormalities exist. This process is commonly referred to as "cytogenetic analysis." A complete copy of an individual's DNA is found in every cell, and it is contained in chromosomes. DNA mutations, or changes, have the potential to cause cancer and give rise to certain cancer-specific traits. Various laboratory techniques, such as flow cytometry, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and fluorescent in-situ hybridization (FISH), can identify particular genetic alterations present in a cancer cell. Cytogenetic test results may play a significant role in recommending the best course of treatment for individual patients.


Immunophenotyping

Certain proteins and/or carbohydrates known as antigens are present on the outside or inside of cells in various forms of leukemia. Leukemia can be further classified to help determine the best course of treatment by looking for correlations between specific antigens and particular disease features. Immunophenotyping is the process of identifying particular antigens. Immunohistocompatibility (IHC) testing is a laboratory test that can be used to check a sample of tissue or blood for a variety of antigens.

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