Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Chronic myelogenous leukemia surgery
Introduction
Overview
Overview
Surgery is not the first-line treatment option for patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia. Splenectomy is usually reserved for patients with enlarged spleen and it has no role in curing CML.
Surgery
Surgery
- The mainstay of treatment for chronic myelogenous leukemia is medical therapy.
- Surgery is indicated for patients with splenomegaly.[1][2]
- Surgery is advised specially if the enlarged spleen is painful, and chemotherapy or radiation therapy does not shrink it.
- The spleen may also be removed to help improve blood cell counts.
Radiation therapy
- Radiation therapy may be used to:[3][4]
- Shrink an enlarged spleen when chemotherapy does not work.
- Treat CML that is metastasized outside the bone marrow.
- Relieve pain caused by the buildup of leukemia cells in the bone marrow.
- Treat the whole body (called as total body irradiation) before a stem cell transplant.
References
References
- ↑ Wolf DJ, Silver RT, Coleman M (November 1978). “Splenectomy in chronic myeloid leukemia”. Ann. Intern. Med. 89 (5 Pt 1): 684–9. PMID 281164.
- ↑ Castrini G, Pappalardo G (1979). “Splenectomy in early chronic myeloid leukemia”. Int Surg. 64 (6): 21–6. PMID 299444.
- ↑ “Surgery for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia”.
- ↑ Canadian Cancer Society.2015.http://www.cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/cancer-type/leukemia-chronic-myelogenous-cml/treatment/?region=ab