Question

Jane Smith complained to her doctor that she was always tired and that she had bleeding from her gums. Blood tests showed decreased platelet counts, increased atypical lymphocytes and presence of the Philadelphia chromosome. What disease is Jane Smith likely to have and what treatment should she get?

Answer 1

ANSWER

Jane Smith is having Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) as its clearly evidenced by the presence of philadelphia chromosomes and also in the CML the platelet count decreases and the parient has increased chances of beeding.

CML is a blood cell cancer where it causes chromosomal mutations and the causes are not yet identified

TREATMENT

Treatment depends according to the staging of the disease, once the disease is staged then the treatment can be started .The treatment modalities includes

-Targeted drug therapy:- As the name indicated it targets on the cancer cell and destroys it. This is the initial treatment provided for the patient who are diagnosed with CML and here the targeted cell identified is a protein produced by BCR-ABL gene/tyrosine kinases .

Examples of such drugs include :-

In chronic myelogenous leukemia, the target of these drugs is the protein produced by the BCR-ABL gene — tyrosine kinase.

-Imatinib

-Pronatinib

-Dasatinib ...etc....

-Stem cell transplantation :-Transplantation provides a chance of definite care for CML and its preferred in patients who have no chance to other treatment options.

During a bone marrow transplant, high doses of chemotherapy drugs are used to kill the blood-forming cells in your bone marrow because those cells are affected in CML and then blood stem cells from a donor are infused into your bloodstream. Thus the old cells are destroyed and newer cells form the donor will replace the patients cell to healthy cells.

Chemotherapy :- chemotherapy kills all fast growing cells in our body including the affected cells and the chemotherapy have lot many side effects and there is no guarentee in cure.

-Biological therapy:- also known as immune therapy where it helps in boosting the immune system of the body and thus the immune cells destroys the cancer cells .This is achieved by giving certain drugs like interleukins and interferons.

-Alternative medicine:- includes
yoga,meditation,exercise,diversion therapy and coping mechanism

Apart from all these the patient needs family support and psychological support that help them to live withe hope.