Leukemia is a disease which is a cancer of the white blood cells. It is the most common type of childhood cancer during which the bone marrow of a child produces abnormal white blood cells that also infects the healthy blood cells. During childhood leukemia a child’s inner body doesn't seem to function in a normal way because the abnormal cell makes hard for proper flow of the blood. The development of Leukemia can be quick or slow, it completely depends upon the health condition of a child. Acute and chronic are the types of Leukemia that grows quickly and slowly in a child's body respectively. In Siliguri, some of the best child specialist doctors provide complete care and treatments for leukemia. The experienced paediatric surgeon in Siliguri diagnosed this critical situation in a variety of ways. Many advanced techniques and equipment are utilized for treating the child with leukemia.
How is Childhood Leukemia Treated?
Chemotherapy
.jpg)
Chemotherapy is regarded as the most important treatment for childhood leukemia. During this treatment a child is given a chemotherapy drugs (anti-cancer drugs) in a muscle, vein (IV), spinal cord or in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) which helps to kill the leukemia cells. The child specialist doctors treat the child by giving several chemo drugs in each cycle as the child's body requires rest and recovery time after each period of treatment. Vincristine, Idarubicin, Daunorubicin, Doxorubicin, Cytarabine etc are some of the main chemo drugs given to the child during Chemotherapy.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation Therapy is another significant procedure for curing the childhood leukemia during which high-energy radiation is used to kill cancer cells. Before applying this therapy many imaging tests including the likes of CT scans and MRI scans are taken. It is a vital part of leukemia treatment before a stem cell transplant. This treatment is completed in a very short period of time which can also be used to prevent the spreading of leukemia to the brain of the child.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy is the procedure of using medicines for prompting the body's own immune system and eliminating the cancer cells. Several types of immunotherapy are utilized by the paediatric surgeon in Siliguri who removes the T cells from the child's body and send it for the lab test to have chimeric antigen receptors. Then, these receptors will be viable to attach with proteins on leukemia cells which is given back to the child's blood. After this the receptors will attack and kill the leukemia cell that starts giving a positive result in child's health condition.
Targeted Therapy Drugs
As childhood leukemia is starting to become a common problem that requires immediate treatment. New drugs have been developed which are different than the chemo drugs that helps in curing and targeting a specific part of cancer cells. These drugs are used as the alternative to chemo and it can also be given along with the chemotherapy drugs. BCR-ABL inhibitor is a new drug which is given to the child with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), in the same way, another drug called Gemtuzumab ozogamicin is given to the child with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
Stem Cell Transplant (SCT)
During the procedure of Stem Cell Transplantation, a high-dose chemotherapy drug is given to a child for a period of days to destroy the leukemia cells. It is a very effective form of treatment which destroys even the healthy cells of a child. Then, the cells are replaced with healthy stem cells which are provided by the donor. For SCT the donor's tissue type should match with the patient's tissue type that is also known as allogeneic stem cell transplant for childhood leukemia. This transplantation is usually done when there is a high risk of leukemia to come back even after chemotherapy.
In Siliguri, the rate of childhood leukemia patients has increased in recent years. Many parents not only from the city but also from outside the city trust the paediatric surgeon in Siliguri. The child specialists of Siliguri have several ways and solutions for treating leukemia and also often provide extra support services to the child's parents.
