Stem Cell Treatment for Leukemia

Several stem cell therapies are already routinely used to treat diseases, despite stem cells largely being considered experimental and generally unavailable. Those treatments include adult stem cell transplants derived from bone marrow and peripheral cord blood blood, along with umbilical cord blood stem cells for conditions such as leukaemia, other types of cancer, and blood disorders. These stem cell therapies usually follow chemotherapy or radiation therapy that destroys both cancer cells and the patients’ own stem cells. The stem cell transplant can then provide healthy stem cells to rebuild the patients’ immune systems and, in some cases, eliminate any residual cancer cells through a graft-versus-tumor effect.

What is Leukemia?

Leukaemia is a particular kind of cancer that affects the white blood cells (leukocytes). The white blood cells are created in the bone marrow from the multipotent stem cells that reside there. These leukocytes are then released into the blood stream where they form a major part of the body’s immune system to fight infection. When leukaemia occurs the leukocytes become cancerous and no longer grow or function as they should, which prevents them from fighting infection and interferes with the function of other organs in the body. To treat leukaemia the faulty leukocytes need to be eliminated in order for healthy white blood cells to repopulate the body.

Leukemia Treatments

Chemotherapy is the treatment most commonly used as it targets cells which rapidly divide, such as cancerous leukocytes. Unfortunately, the chemotherapy is not specific to cancer cells and, therefore, also destroys the stem cells in the bone marrow. This means that the patient who undergoes chemotherapy is at risk of infection, anaemia, and bleeding as the red blood cells, platelets, and any healthy leukocytes are also destroyed. Stem cell transfusion following chemotherapy can use donor stem cells to repopulate the bone marrow and begin to rebuild the body’s blood and immune-forming cells.


Read On –> Sources of Stem Cells to Treat Leukemia