Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) Treatment Options
Like most patients, you probably questions and concerns about your treatment options. You may also want to know how you’ll feel and function after treatment, and if you’ll have to change your normal activities. Your care team is available to respond to all of your inquiries.
Treatment options for Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) can include:
- Chemotherapy: This is the main way to treat AML. The treatment uses medicines to kill cancer cells. Its goal is to kill the cancer cells and put the cancer into remission. Remission means there are no signs of cancer in the body.
- Stem Cell Transplant with High-Dose Chemotherapy: If the normal doses of chemotherapy don't work, your doctor may need to give you very high doses of chemotherapy. These high doses can damage the stem cells in your bone marrow. Blood stem cells are the "starter" cells for new blood cells. In some cases before chemotherapy, the doctor removes some stem cells from a volunteer donor and freezes them. They are then given to you after treatment to restore your body's lost blood cells. This is called a stem cell transplant.
- All-Trans Retinoic Acid (ATRA) and Arsenic Trioxide: These are medicines used to treat a subtype of AML called acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). These treatments are not used for other types of AML. ATRA is a type of vitamin A. It’s combined with other types of anticancer medicines. Arsenic trioxide can be used either alone or along with ATRA.
- Radiation Therapy: This type of therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill cancer cells. It’s not often used to treat AML. But in some cases, it may be used to kill or prevent the spread of cancer in your nervous system. It may be used right before a stem cell transplant. In rare cases, it may be done to shrink a tumor.
To contact one of New Jersey’s best blood cancer specialists call
844-CANCERNJ or
844-226-2376.