Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Cardiotoxicity
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n recent decades, cancer research has progressed from the question of what caused their death to how to prevent it. Even though technology has improved and the knowledge of cancer has increased, the unfortunate answer is that as of current progress, there is no preventing cancer. Whether you’re an office worker, a secretary, or the very scientist studying cancer, there is always a risk that you, too, could get it. Oncology is a field where the diseases scientists study differ from person to person, and a drug effective for patient A might not necessarily work for patient B. However, because of this, scientists working on drugs and cures for cancer are given more grants leading to more breakthroughs year after year. Today, there is hope at every stage of cancer, with new drugs that work effectively even against stage 4 cancer cells. But what happens when the spread of cancer lies undetected until it is too late and the spread is too aggressive to handle? This case study will focus on the treatments of acute myeloid leukemia and the aftereffects of its treatment.
By: Elizabeth Zee ‘25 STEM In The News: Issue 3.
Leukemia is a broad term used to describe the cancer of the body’s blood-forming tissues, especially the bone marrow and the lymphatic system. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML), also known as acute myelogenous cancer or acute nonlymphocytic leukemia, is an aggressive form of leukemia. AML progresses rapidly due to its origins in the bone marrow, which affects the production of unmutated white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. This results in recurrent infections because of mutated white blood cells, and easy bruising due to the lack of platelets. The most common treatment of AML is chemotherapy, which is the use of cytotoxic drugs to help kill off the rapidly growing cells. Over time, chemotherapy can become less effective, especially in older patients whose leukemic cells become more resistant to standard chemotherapy. Because older patients are more susceptible to diseases, they are not compatible with myelosuppressive chemotherapy (the reduction of white blood cell population) as it yields a 25% mortality rate (4). Therefore, the best action for older patients is to use cytotoxic drugs that specifically target the cancerous cells.
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