Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia

Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia Acute promyelocytic leukemia, a form of acute myeloid leukemia, is a bone marrow cancer with painful symptoms, that occurs in approximately 1 in 250,000 people of the US. . Normal bone marrow has a steady supply of hematopoietic stem cells that produce helpful cells for the body; red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets (“Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia Description”). These cells all have specific jobs that they perform and are all vital to the body’s survival. Red blood cells carry oxygen, white blood cells protect the body from infection, and platelets help the blood to clot. These important cells are affected in the body of a patient with acute promyelocytic leukemia. In acute promyelocytic leukemia, APL, immature white blood cells, called promyelocytes, accumulate in the bone marrow. The overgrowth of promyelocytes leads to a shortage of normal white and red blood cells, and platelets. This causes the patient to have many painful and troublesome symptoms.
Patients with APL are prone to experiencing many conditions that may be abnormal for …show more content…
Typically in the first phase, all-trans retinoic acid, ATRA, is given. This substance is similar to vitamin A. It is then combined with standard chemotherapy. In the future, doctors plan to try to use arsenic trioxide during induction with a select group of patients. During the second phase, ATRA, arsenic trioxide, and chemotherapy are given together. The combination of these three drugs are used in attempt to get rid of any cells that may have been inactive during the first phase, but could now start to grow and cause APL to return. The last phase is when chemotherapy and ATRA are given to the patient for about a year to try to avoid a relapse for the