Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML)

Symptoms

 In chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), sufferers are often asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis. In fact, CML can go undetected in the body for years until it develops into an accelerated "blast crisis" stage when it begins to resemble the symptoms of AML. In addition to the common symptoms of AML, CML can be further distinguished by low platelet count and an enlarged spleen.

Treatment Options

The goal of treating chronic phase CML is to bring the level of blood cells back to normal and to get rid of all cells with the BCR-ABL cancer gene. Patients usually accomplish this through oral drug therapy, and treatment usually returns the level of blood cells to normal. The spleen shrinks towards normal size. Most patients don't have infections or unusual bleeding, and with sustained drug treatment most patients enter a remissive state and remain symptom free for very long periods of time.

However, drug treatment is just that - a treatment and not a cure for CML. They are checked carefully for any signs that CML is returning, and from time to time a patient may need a bone marrow test. Patients may eventually become drug resistant, at which point alternate drug therapies can be used with varying rates of success based on the individual. 

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