Pathologies of blood of a tumor origin are considered the most dangerous oncological diseases. One of such pathological abnormalities is myelomonocytic leukemia.
The concept of myelomonocytic leukemia
In fact, myelomonocytic leukemia is a type of leukemia - a cancer of the blood. For this pathology, violations in the formation of blood cells and their subsequent malfunctioning are typical. Usually, problems arise with immature cells like monoblasts and myeloblasts.
Symptoms of
Among the typical symptoms of myelomonocytic leukemia, there are signs that are characteristic of a number of other pathological conditions, therefore it is impossible to determine the development of the disease independently:
- Chronic weakness;
- Weight loss and loss of appetite;
- Increase in the size of the spleen and liver;
- Frequent dizziness;
- Persistent pallor of the skin;
- Nausea;
- Addiction to the formation of bruises and hemorrhages, increased bleeding;
- Absence of resistance to pathologies of infectious origin;
- Propensity to feverish conditions;
- Increased brittleness of bone tissue;
- Propensity to internal bleeding.
Some manifestations may differ slightly depending on the particular species of myelomonocytic leukemia.
For late stages of this type of pathology are characterized by brain, genital or visual lesions, tachycardia, anemic manifestations.
Acute
Acute myelomonocytic leukemia is considered a fairly common leukemic variety, diagnosed in children under 2 years of age.
Usually acute myelomonocytic leukemia is accompanied by severe anemic manifestations such as pallor, intolerance to physical exertion, excessive fatigue, etc. In addition, patients have a reduced level of platelets, which is shown to be prone to bleeding and hemorrhages.
Along with the listed symptoms, the following patients are observed:
- A pronounced tendency to infectious lesions that are difficult to treat;
- If the content of leukocyte cells reaches critical levels, it can lead to dangerous consequences for the patient's life, when leukocytes accumulate in blood vessels and cause circulatory and vascular damage;
- Often the acute form of myelomonocytic leukemia is accompanied by nervous systemic lesions caused by cancer cells;
- Especially often in the oncology processes are involved the spleen, skin, liver and gums.
The basis of therapy consists of drugs from the group of cytostatics, and in some cases - bone marrow transplant. If the pathology is complicated by neiroleukemicheskimi processes, then the introduction of medications is carried out directly into the medullary fluid.
Chronic
The chronic form of myelomonocytic leukemia is characterized by an incalculably large amount of monocytes. This kind of pathology often proceeds in a latent form, manifested only anemic symptoms.
Chronic myelomonocytic leukemia is characterized by a peculiar course:
- At the initial stages of development of pathology, a typical increase in production of monocytic cells in bone marrow substance is observed, moreover, in peripheral blood they are also found in considerable quantities;
- It is noteworthy that other germs of the hematopoietic system are not subjected to depressant effects;
- With further development, the course is complemented by an increase in the parameters of the spleen and liver, with no increase in lymph nodes with this form of pathology;
- For pathology is characterized by the presence of hemorrhagic syndrome;
- The patient begins to lose weight sharply;
- Often concerned with anemic symptoms, accompanied by flies before the eyes, chest pains, general weakness;
- At times, the course of pathology can be complicated by infectious processes and hyperthermia;
- Against the backdrop of bone marrow growth patients may suffer from bone pain;
- In the terminal stages of myelomonocytic chronic leukemia, promonocytic and monoblast cells are detected in the blood of patients.
Typically, symptomatic symptoms occur after a few months from the onset of myelomonocytic leukemia. Moreover, pathologies are prone to mainly elderly people over 50 years of age.
Juvenile
Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia is characterized by a chronic course, only it develops in young patients younger than 4 years of age.
Typically, this type of disease accounts for about 2% of clinical cases of childhood leukemia, and most often the disease affects boys.
The juvenile form of this type of leukemia is characterized by the presence of promontocytic and monocytic cell structures in the peripheral blood.
Children with the appearance of juvenile leukemia have such symptoms:
- Insufficient weight gain;
- Delays in physical development;
- Iron deficiency anemia with characteristic fatigue, excessive weakness, pale skin;
- Hyperthermia;
- Frequent bleeding of the gums and nose;
- Frequent infectious complications;
- Growth in spleen and liver;
- Swelling of lymph nodes located in the periphery.
The only option for a child's recovery is a bone marrow transplant. Conservative methods in this clinical case do not provide stable remission.
Causes and possible factors
Tumor formation is usually localized in the areas of location of the medullary substance. Gradually, oncological processes progress and cause hematopoietic disorders. Pathogenic processes lead to the replacement of normal bone marrow cells by abnormal structures.
As a result, the bone marrow does not cope with the production of the necessary quantity of full-fledged blood cells, which leads to deficiency of leukocytes, platelets and other cellular structures.
Such a shortage of different blood cells leads to the fact that the blood can not fully perform all of its functions. As a result, the bodies lack oxygen and nutrients, which contributes to the development of systemic disorders.
Various factors contribute to the development of such processes:
- Family predisposition;
- Radiation;
- Immunodeficiency states;
- Presence of pathogenetic viral agent like HIV, lymphotropic virus or Epstein-Barr;
- Chronic pathologies in chromosomes such as Down syndrome, Bloom syndrome or Fanconi anemia;
- Carcinogenicity;
- Consequences of chemotherapeutic treatment;
- Activity in the production of increased harmfulness;
- Negative ecology.
Stages of
The myelomonocytic leukemia species proceeds in several stages:
- For the initial stage of , the inhibition of hepatic processes is typical. It is called the first attack, when the clinical symptomatology is characterized by a certain severity;
- Then comes the remission phase, when the results of bone marrow puncture are practically normal;
- Incomplete remission phase with intensive therapeutic effect of shows the onset of some improvement;
- The terminal phase - begins when conservative therapy is rendered useless. There is an increase in tumor growths, anemic symptoms, thrombocytopenia, etc.
Diagnosis
Diagnostic tests are based on laboratory blood tests. To confirm myelomonocytic leukemia, a bone marrow biopsy is necessary.
Treatment of
Treatment includes:
- Bone marrow transplantation;
- Use of antibiotic drugs;
- Chemotherapy treatment;
- Use of tumor cell antibodies;
- Hemostatic medicinal products;
- With particularly large amounts of education, the use of detoxification drugs is indicated;Transfusion of mass of red blood cells or platelets.
Forecast of
The majority of patients have a positive dynamics due to the use of conservative therapeutic techniques. Similar reactions are characteristic for 50-80% of patients.
In patients after 50 and with myelomonocytic leukemia, which developed as a result of chemotherapeutic treatment for another oncology, the predictions are of the worst nature.