Acute Erythroblastic Leukemia Health Article

Special concerns

Patients diagnosed with acute erythroblastic leukemia require special support in that they must deal with having a rare form of cancer about which there is very little specific information available. This creates additional anxiety and special care must be taken to explain to the patient that an uncommon cancer is not an untreatable one.

See Also Bone marrow aspiration and biopsy; Chronic myelocytic leukemia; Myeloproliferative diseases

Resources

BOOKS

Jandl, James H. Blood. Textbook of Hematology. Boston: Little, Brown, 1996.

PERIODICALS

Shichishima, T., "Minimally Differentiated Erythroleukemia:Recognition of Erythroid Precursors and Progenitors." Internal Medicine 39 (October 2000): 843-46.

Mazzella, F.M., et al. "The Acute Erythroleukemias." Clinical Laboratory Medicine 20 (March 2000): 119-37.

Novik, Y., et al. "Familial Erythroleukemia: A Distinct Clinical and Genetic Type of Familial Leukemias." Leuk. Lymphoma 30 (July 1998): 395-401.

ORGANIZATIONS

National Cancer Institute, Public Inquiries Office, Building 31, Room 10A31, 31 Center Drive, MSC 2580, Bethesda, MD 20892-2580. (301)435-2848. <http://www.nci.nih.gov>.

National Cancer Information Center. 1-800-ACS-2345. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America. 1-800-955-4572. <http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/>.

OTHER

American Cancer Society's Consumer Guide to Cancer Drugs. Caregiving—A Step-by-Step Resource for Caring for the Person with Cancer at Home. Available from: American Cancer Society. (800) ACS-2345. <http://www.cancer.org.>.

Advanced Cancer: Living Day by Day. Chemotherapy and You: A Guide to Self-help During Treatment. Eating Hints for Cancer Patients. What You Need to Know About Leukemia. Available from: National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Health. (800) 4-CANCER. <http://www.nci.nih.gov>.

Monique Laberge, Ph.D.

Allogeneic bone marrow transplant

—A bone marrow transplant using bone marrow obtained from a genetically matched healthy donor, such as a sister or a brother.

Autologous bone marrow transplant

—A bone marrow transplant that uses the patient's own bone marrow.

Anemia

—A condition in which the number of red blood cells is below normal

Blast cells

—Immature cancer cells. Also called promelocytes.

Bone marrow aspiration

—Common technique used to obtain a bone marrow sample from a patient. A needle is inserted into a marrow-containing bone, such as the hip (iliac crest) or sternum (breast bone) and a small amount of liquid bone marrow is removed for examination.

Bone marrow biopsy

—Another common technique used to obtain a bone marrow sample from a patient. Like bone marrow aspiration, it is performed with a needle, but a larger one is used and a small piece of bone is removed as well as bone marrow.

Chemotherapy

—The treatment of disease by means of chemicals. In cancer, the chemicals selectively destroy cancerous tissue. When cancer remission occurs, a course of maintenance chemotherapy is often prescribed so as to prevent recurrence.

Erythrocyte

—Red blood cell.

Leukemia

—Cancer of the blood-forming tissues.

Myeloid blast cell

—Type of cancer cell originating in the bone marrow.

Platelet

—A type of blood cell responsible for blood coagulation and for the repair of damaged blood vessels.

Proliferation

—Rapid reproduction of tissue.

Remission

—Complete or partial disappearance of the symptoms of cancer following treatment.

QUESTIONS TO ASK THE DOCTOR

• How can I obtain information on a rare cancer such as acute erythroblastic leukemia?
• How are my chances of recovery affected by the fact that this cancer is so rare?