Treatment of leukemia in Israel

Leukemia (blood cancer, leukemia, leukemia) is an oncological blood disease, which is based on a violation of hematopoiesis, manifested by uncontrolled reproduction of immature hematopoietic cells. The term "leukemia" denotes not one disease - it includes a whole group of diseases and takes its name from the type of affected cells.

The causes and mechanisms of leukemia

It is proved that the basis of uncontrolled growth of blood cells are specific mutations of chromosomes that arise under the influence of some external factors, the main of which are:
Radiation (it is known that after the explosion of the nuclear reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the number of Europeans suffering from leukemia increased sharply);
Carcinogens of chemical nature (benzene, pesticides, refined petroleum products, some medicines);
Viruses.

In addition, there is a genetic predisposition to blood cancer. The risk of leukemia in blood relatives of a person suffering from this disease is 3-4 times higher than in people whose family did not have leukemia. It is worthwhile to understand that by inheritance it is the predisposition of cells to a genetic mutation that is transmitted, and not the disease itself.
So, a chromosome mutation occurs and one of the hematopoietic cells in the bone marrow starts to multiply actively, forming a tumor. This tissue gradually replaces and healthy cells of the bone marrow, which manifests itself by those or other symptoms. Over time, tumor cells from the bone marrow enter the blood stream, which is carried throughout the body, forming metastases in various organs (more often in lymph nodes, liver, spleen). Leukemia cells change the tissues of the affected organ, turning them into themselves.

Classification and signs of the disease

All leukemias are divided according to the nature of their course into 2 large groups: acute and chronic.

Acute leukemia occurs when the process of hematopoiesis abruptly stops at the very beginning. As a result, blasts predominate in the bone marrow, and the number of intermediate forms of hematopoietic cells tends to zero. This type of leukemia is characterized by a rapid current and consists of 5 periods:
Preleukemia (patients complain of general weakness, rapid fatigue, impaired appetite, frequent infectious diseases, peripheral blood parameters at this stage may be normal or slightly altered);
Acute (begins with fever, lack of appetite, pain in bones and joints, on the skin and mucous membranes, hemorrhages (both small and large), enlarges the lymph nodes, spleen and liver, as well as tonsils, which causes difficulty in swallowing; Peripheral blood increased the number of leukocytes, there are blast forms of cells, the number of platelets and erythrocytes was sharply reduced);
Remission (there are no clinical manifestations, blasts absent in the peripheral blood, their number in the bone marrow does not exceed 5%);
Relapse;
Terminal stage.

Chronic leukemia is called when more adult forms of blood cells are involved in the pathological process than blast. The course of this disease is long and characterized by a lack of pronounced symptomatology: for years, patients may be troubled by weakness, fatigue, sweating, poor appetite, later the liver, spleen and lymph nodes increase.

Treatment of leukemia in Israel

For the maximum psychological comfort of the patient, at the slightest opportunity, it is recommended to conduct therapy on the basis of a day hospital for the department of oncohematology. In the case when hospitalization is necessary, patients are provided with comfortable chambers with all amenities, a video library and a room for viewing video films.

The duration of treatment for leukemia is 24 months, 6-8 of which the patient is in hospital, and the rest of the therapy is outpatient.
The first stage of leukemia treatment in Top Ichilov Clinics is called "remission induction" and is a chemotherapy designed to destroy as many tumor cells as possible.

The second stage - prevention of recurrence of the disease - includes 3 more stages of chemotherapy:

Consolidation (in adults this stage lasts 1-3 months, in children 4-8 months, the remaining single tumor cells are eliminated);
Supportive therapy (chemotherapeutic drugs are used, but in much smaller doses, the goal of this stage is the prevention of relapse);
Intensification (more active chemotherapy is used).

In the case of ineffective chemotherapy, bone marrow transplantation with stem cell transplantation is performed .

An additional method of treatment is the irradiation of the spinal cord and brain due to frequent metastasis in these areas.

In some cases, one of the newest methods, targeted therapy, is used to treat leukemia by doctors Top Ihilov Klinik. Medicinal substances are delivered directly to pathologically altered blood cells, after which the body produces antibodies to these cells, suppressing their growth.

The final stage of leukemia treatment in Top Ichilov Clinics is the rehabilitation stage, during which the specialists closely monitor the patient's health and promptly correct the violations that occur.

Of course, the treatment of leukemia in Israel is worth a lot of money - the minimum cost of bone marrow transplantation from a related donor is about $ 190,000. However, in Europe, particularly in Germany, a similar operation is estimated at 250,000 euros, which is much more expensive, while the quality of treatment for this disease in Israel is not inferior to the German one.