What is leukemia Leukemia, commonly known as “blood cancer”, is the most common malignant tumor in children, ranking first in the incidence of childhood tumors (30%). The incidence of childhood leukemia is about 3 to 4 per 100,000 population and is increasing at a rate of at least 30,000 to 40,000 per year, and can occur at any age, mostly between the ages of 2 and 8, with boys being more likely than girls. Leukemia is a malignant tumor of hematopoietic stem cells, characterized by diffuse proliferation of abnormal leukocytes (leukemia cells) in the bone marrow replacing normal bone marrow tissue, and often invades the surrounding blood, causing quantitative and qualitative changes in the surrounding blood leukocytes; leukemia cells can extensively infiltrate the liver, spleen, lymph nodes and other tissues and organs throughout the body, often leading to anemia, bleeding and infection. Many people think that tumor is a disease of old age and children will not get malignant tumor, and some people think that children with tumor will not live to be adults even if they are treated, and they will only end up with empty money, so many parents choose to give up treatment.
In fact, the majority of pediatric tumors are benign, and the cure rate of a few malignant tumors is much better than that of adult tumors. Nowadays, advanced radiotherapy, new chemotherapy, advanced surgical techniques, together with molecular medicine, genetic medicine, combined Chinese and Western medicine, the cure rate of pediatric tumors is rapidly increasing: in 1960, there was basically no cure for pediatric leukemia worldwide, but in 1990, the cure rate of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia reached 70%~80%, and in 2006, the 5-year cure rate of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in foreign developed countries reached 90%. 90%. Some people ask why the prescription can cure individual malignant tumors. It is true that some of the pediatric malignant tumors can be cured by themselves, for example, most of the children with mid- to late-stage neuroblastoma have poor outcome, but very few (stage IVs) can disappear naturally or become benign nodular cell tumors. Scientific treatment is justified, based on statistics and certainty, and it is important to believe in science and adhere to regular treatment.
The causative factors of leukemia External factors are indispensable for the development of leukemia. They mainly include physical factors such as radiation and ultraviolet rays, which increase the risk of disease by 3 to 10 times with long-term exposure; among chemical factors, 80% of leukemia is related to environmental pollution, such as poor quality furniture, decoration materials, cleaning products, paints, cadmium, asphalt containing some harmful chemicals such as radon, formaldehyde, benzene, ammonia, styrene, trichloroethylene and asbestos; biological factors are mainly caused by viruses and bacteria. The viral etiology of human leukemia has been studied for decades, but so far only adult T-cell leukemia is definitely caused by viruses. Parents are concerned about how far formaldehyde is from childhood leukemia? There are several misconceptions about indoor pollution: ① No smell is no threat? No smell does not mean that the room does not have air pollution; when you smell the odor, the formaldehyde content of the home may have exceeded 5 times, and more than 10 times the child is vulnerable to leukemia. ② old house no pollution? In fact, many houses in the last century using granite paving and wall, its radioactive substances can also damage health, because formaldehyde release period of up to 3 to 15 years. ③Fetishize foreign goods? In fact, whether the pollution exceeds the standard and national and foreign goods are not necessarily linked. Therefore, there are four suggestions: ① pay attention to indoor air, more windows and doors ventilation, especially newly renovated rooms, it is best to open the windows for 1 to 3 months before moving in; ② in the decoration of new houses, purchase furniture to strictly control the materials; ③ cigarettes are also one of the main sources of indoor formaldehyde pollution, do not smoke, especially families with children, should be passive smoking is an important cause of childhood leukemia; ④ grow plants indoors such as hanging orchids, hairy trees, etc., both beautiful and can well improve indoor air quality.
Internal factors such as genetic factors and the development of certain leukemias are related: 8.1% of leukemia patients have a family history of leukemia, while the control group is only 0.5%; the incidence of ALL is 30 times higher than expected in people married to close relatives; certain hereditary disorders are often accompanied by a higher incidence of leukemia, such as Down syndrome, Fanconi anemia; but leukemia is not a hereditary disease. In addition, immune deficiency: weakened resistance or malfunction are prone to the disease; nutrition: lack or imbalance of vitamins, minerals, as well as protein, fat, sugar and fiber in the recipe can cause disorders of the internal environment; mental: related to longer periods of mental depression and depression; bad habits: including smoking and alcoholism, partial diet, unscientific cooking, etc.
Clinical course of leukemia Early symptoms are the child becoming lazy, inactive, and losing appetite; thereafter, progressive pallor, bone and joint pain, irregular fever, debility, skin and gum bleeding occur; only at the end do the liver, spleen, and lymph nodes become enlarged, followed by recurrent infections, general failure, and wasting. Children should be alerted to possible early symptoms of leukemia when the following symptoms appear: ① fever is the most common first symptom of childhood leukemia; ② bleeding about half of children with nasal, oral, gum and skin bleeding, serious internal organs, intracranial bleeding, which can be fatal; ③ anemia is the most common early symptom, which is progressively aggravated; ④ bone/joint pain can be the first symptom; ⑤ enlarged liver, spleen and lymph nodes. Enlargement of liver, spleen and lymph nodes is significant in ALL children, and splenomegaly is more obvious in CML; ⑥ headache, nausea, vomiting, even convulsions and coma are symptoms of meningeal leukemia; ⑦ abnormal blood count: most children have leukocytosis and abnormal cells can be found.
Confirmation of childhood leukemia The diagnosis of leukemia depends on the following tests, including blood routine, peripheral blood smear, bone marrow aspiration (bone marrow smear, immunophenotype, fusion gene and chromosome examination), and bone marrow biopsy if necessary.
The characteristics of childhood leukemia are mostly acute, highly malignant, and rapidly progressive; it is sensitive to chemotherapy, cancer cells are easily killed, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation can be performed for children who are resistant to chemotherapy; with timely detection and treatment, childhood leukemia is completely curable.