The Latest Breakthroughs in Blood Cancer Treatment

A blood cancer diagnosis is a serious one. Every three minutes, someone in the U.S. is diagnosed with leukemia, myeloma, or lymphoma.
If you or a loved one has blood cancer, there are several promising new treatments you should know about.
Here are the latest breakthroughs in blood cancer treatment.

The Newest Breakthroughs in Blood Cancer Treatment Options

Blood Tests Instead of Biopsies

When you’re undergoing blood cancer treatment, your doctor needs to track your progress. This process generally involves biopsies.
Unfortunately, biopsies can be painful and invasive. They may also take several hours to complete. Now, a simple blood test may replace the procedure.
With a quick blood draw, doctors can track treatment progress for each patient. This allows them to quickly get detailed information about each patient’s cancer. The process is less invasive and painful for the patient.

Genomic Profiling of Blood Cancer

With the power of genomics, doctors can get a better picture of a patient’s blood cancer.
This field of scientific research looks at the genetic material present in our DNA. By studying our genomes, doctors get valuable information about each patient’s individual biology.
Doctors can examine the genetics of each patient’s cancer cells to understand them. They can tell what drives their growth. Using this information, they can create a custom treatment plan that’s tailored to each patient’s biology.

Stem Cell Transplants

Stem cell technology has already had major applications in blood cancer treatment. Scientists are constantly improving their understanding of it.
Bone marrow transplants fall under the umbrella of stem cell technology. With a bone marrow donor, doctors can use chemotherapy to kill a patient’s cancer cells. Then, they can replace these cancerous cells with healthy ones.
This can stimulate new bone marrow cell growth and reduce the possibility of a relapse.
As doctors improve this treatment, they can approve more donors for transplants.

New Drug Therapies

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, approves new drugs to treat blood cancers. So far in 2017, the FDA has approved 10 new drugs and therapies to treat various blood cancers.
These drugs can treat many different types lymphoma, leukemia, and myeloma.
One FDA-approved treatment is called Kymriah. It is the first gene therapy treatment to hit the market. Doctors genetically modify the patient’s own immune cells to attack the source of the cancer.
It is approved for use in patients up to age 25 with relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
If you would like to try one of these drug therapies, discuss your options with your doctor. They can best determine which therapy poses the best chance of success in your case.

For More on the Latest Developments in Cancer Treatment Technology, Visit AO Multispecialty Clinic

At AO Multispecialty Clinic, we work to provide effective, compassionate care to cancer patients in Augusta, Georgia. We publish the latest news on cancer research on our blog so we can help patients around the world stay up to date on advancements.
Contact us today with your questions or for more information about cancer treatment.