What is Blood Cancer Treatment?
BDS (Bachelor of Dental Surgery), 6 years of experience
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What is the meaning of Blood Cancer?
One million blood cancer cases occur every year in India. Blood cancer begins due to mutation in bone marrow cells. This causes the body to produce a large number of immature blood cells that fail to perform their job properly. This compromises immunity against different infections. Blood cancer is mainly divided into three types that include myeloma, lymphoma, and leukemia.
Let us get detailed information about blood cancer in this article.
- What is Blood Cancer?
- What is the rate of occurrence of Blood Cancer?
- What are the types of Blood Cancer?
- What are the causes of Blood Cancer?
- What are the symptoms of Blood Cancer?
- How do you diagnose Blood Cancer?
- What are the stages of Blood Cancer?
- What are the treatments for Blood Cancer?
- What are the survival rates of Blood Cancer?
- What is the cost of Blood Cancer Treatment in India?
What is Blood Cancer?
Blood cancer is a fatal disease. It is caused due to uncontrolled growth of abnormal blood cells. The blood is made up of different types of cells namely, red blood cells for carrying oxygen, platelets to help blood clot and white blood cells to ward off infections. They all originate from stem cells, which have the potential to morph into any type of blood cell as they divide and mature. This is known as differentiation.
The type of blood cancer depends on when and how these problems occur. These problems often lead to the body producing a large amount of immature blood cells that fail to perform their job properly. They can also ‘clog up’ your bone marrow, which restricts other types of blood cells from doing their job too. This can lead to the impairment of immunity ;
What is the rate of occurrence of Blood Cancer?
- Surveys suggest that India is ranked 3rd highest in reported cases of Blood Cancer, following the US and China and affects more than 70,000 men and women in the country.
- An estimated 1.24 million blood cancer cases occur annually worldwide, accounting for approximately 6% of all cancer cases.
- Leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) specifically, accounts for about 1 out of 3 cases of childhood cancer that is the most common cancer in children and adolescents.
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What are the types of Blood Cancer?
There are three major types of blood cancer:
- Myeloma: A form of blood cancer that affects plasma cells. These plasma cells (a type of white blood cell) normally reside in the bone marrow within the body and help the body to prevent infections.
( Know more about- What is Multiple Myeloma? )
- Lymphoma: Lymphoma is a type of blood cancer that begins in the lymphocytes which are the infection-fighting cells of the immune system and typically affect the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system helps protect against diseases. These cells are present in the spleen, lymph nodes, bone marrow, thymus, and other parts of the body. There are two types of lymphomas – Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
( Know more about- What is Lymphoma? )
– Hodgkin lymphoma is a form of blood cancer that develops in the lymphatic system from cells called lymphocytes. Hodgkin lymphoma is characterized by the presence of an abnormal lymphocyte, having an owl eye appearance under the microscope, called the Reed-Sternberg cell. Hodgkin lymphoma is easily treatable.
– Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a type of blood cancer that develops in the lymphatic system from cells called lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell that helps the body fight infections. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma differs from Hodgkin lymphoma in the way the blood picture presents under the microscope. This disease is much more aggressive as compared to Hodgkin lymphoma.
- Leukemia: Leukemia is a type of blood cancer that affects the white blood cells of the body. It occurs when the body creates too many faulty white blood cells and interferes with the bone marrow’s ability to make red blood cells and platelets. White blood cells are essential for our body as they help in fighting against diseases.
What are the causes of Blood Cancer?
Blood cancer can occur due to the following reasons:
- Aging
- A weak immune system
- Exposure to high levels of radiation
- The risk of blood cancer increases after chemotherapy or radiation therapy taken for other diseases
- Exposure to chemicals, like benzene
- Blood disorders like myelodysplastic syndrome, which is also sometimes called ‘preleukemia’
- Fanconi’s anemia, Down syndrome and other Genetic Disorders
- Family history of blood cancer
- This disease is more likely to occur in a person affected by HIV, AIDS
- The risk of developing acute myeloid leukemia (AML) increases for individuals who smoke
- Alcohol consumption
What are the symptoms of Blood Cancer?
The following are the symptoms of blood cancer:
- Skin rash
- Excessive sweating at night
- Nausea
- Fever
- Blood in stool
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- Itchy skin or rash
- Persistent weakness and fatigue
- Joint pain
- Pale skin
- Chills
- Decreased appetite
- Dizziness
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- Unusual bruising
- Bleeding gums
- Swollen and painless lymph nodes in regions of the neck, armpits, or groin
- Frequent infection
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How do you diagnose Blood Cancer?
The following can be done to diagnose blood cancer:
- Complete blood count: This test measures the number of white blood cells, red blood cells, and other components that make up your blood. It checks for abnormalities in the quantities of these cells.
- Blood smear: If the complete blood count doesn’t give a valid diagnosis or the doctor thinks your body isn’t making blood cells in an appropriate manner, they may recommend this test. It checks if the blood cells look normal and if it is in the right quantity.
- Blood chemistry: This measures blood sugar, cholesterol, proteins, hormones, and other components in your blood. It gives insight into your overall health and can flag some problems.
- White cell differential: This is used to measure the different kinds of white cells in your blood. The results of the test help show how well your body can fight infection.
- Flow cytometry: This test measures the amount of white cells and notes their size, shape and cell surface markers. It can be done on the blood or the bone marrow.
- Immunophenotyping: This test can tell the difference between the different kinds of cancer cells.
- Karyotype test: This test looks for variations in the size, shape, number, or arrangement of chromosomes in blood or bone marrow cells.
- Polymerase chain reaction: This test can spot markers of cancer and can pick up on important information that other tests miss.
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What are the stages of Blood Cancer?
The Rai system is employed to stage chronic leukemia:
- Stage 0- The patient has high levels of white blood cells, but no other physical symptoms.
- Stage 1- The patient has high levels of white blood cells and enlarged lymph nodes.
- Stage 2– The patient has high levels of white blood cells and is anemic. He or she can also have enlarged lymph nodes.
- Stage 3– The patient has high levels of white blood cells and is anemic. He or she can also have enlarged lymph nodes and/or an enlarged liver or spleen.
- Stage 4- The patient has high levels of white blood cells and low platelets. He or she can also be anemic, have enlarged lymph nodes, and have an enlarged liver or spleen.
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What are the treatments for Blood Cancer?
Treatment of blood cancer depends on the patient’s symptoms. Doctors take a note of the patient’s age, health status, and type of blood cancer before starting the treatment. The treatment of blood cancer includes chemotherapy, biological therapy, targeted therapy, radiation therapy, and stem cell transplantation.
- In chemotherapy, IV medications are administered by using a drip to reduce the effect of cancer. Even though chemotherapy medications target and kill cancer cells, they also impact other non-cancerous cells leading to severe side effects like hair loss, weight loss and nausea, decrease in blood cell counts. However, these effects are only temporary.
( Know more about- What is Chemotherapy? )
- Biological therapy for cancer uses the body’s immune system itself to kill cancer cells. It is used to prevent or slow down the growth of the tumor and to prevent the spread of cancer.
In targeted therapy, doctors administer drugs to target the cancerous cells. These medications only target the cancerous cells without affecting any of the other cells, thus reducing the chances of side effects. Rituximab, Dasatinib, Imatinib, and Nilotinib are some of the medications currently used under targeted therapy.
- Radiation therapy is the use of energy beams to damage leukemia cells and prevent their growth. This type of treatment is recommended for adults and some children above 3 years who have acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL).
- In some cases, the doctor may perform a bone marrow transplant in the patient. In a bone marrow transplant, the goal of the treatment is to kill as many of the cancer cells as possible by treating the body with very high doses of chemotherapy and radiation. This is done to prepare the bone marrow to create space for new stem cells. Normally, the body will kill the stem cells in the bone marrow as it will not be able to handle such high doses. Hence, after a person is treated with these high doses, the blood needs to be rescued with healthy, new stem cells. The new stem cells can come from the blood or bone marrow of a donor or by harvesting the stem cells from the patient himself.
( Know more about- What is Bone Marrow Transplant? )
What are the survival rates of Blood Cancer?
- The average five-year survival rate for all kinds of leukemia is 65.8%. The 5-year survival rate for people aged 20 and older is 38%. The 5-year survival rate for people under age 20 is 89%.
- For all people with Hodgkin lymphoma, the 5-year survival rate is 87%. If cancer is found in its earliest stages, the 5-year survival rate is 91%. The 5-year survival rate if cancer spreads regionally is 94%. The 5-year survival rate is 81%; if cancer has spread to different parts of the body.
- The overall 5-year survival rate for people with myeloma is 54%. For the 5% of patients who are diagnosed at an early stage, the 5-year survival rate is 75%. If cancer has spread to a distant part of the body, the 5-year survival rate is 53%.
What is the cost of Blood Cancer Treatment in India?
The total cost of blood cancer treatment in India can range from around INR 2,50,000 to INR 7,50,000. However, the cost of the procedure may vary across different hospitals. There are many big hospitals and specialized doctors in India for blood cancer treatment. The cost varies across different hospitals.
If you are coming from abroad, in addition to the expenses of blood cancer treatment, there will be a cost of staying in a hotel, cost of living, and cost of local travel. Apart from this, after the procedure, the patient is kept in hospital for 5 days and in the hotel for 15 days for recovery. So, the total cost of blood cancer treatment in India comes to be around INR 4,00,000 to INR 10,00,000.
We hope that all your questions regarding blood cancer treatment have been answered through this article.
If you want to get more information and the treatment of blood cancer, then immediately contact a Surgical Oncologist.
We only aim to give you information through the article and do not recommend medication or treatment in any way. Only a doctor can give you the best advice and correct treatment plan.