Niğde Provincial Health Director Dr. Lecturer. Member Doğan Bahadır İnan made a statement due to November 2-8 Children with Leukemia Week.
Stating that the most common cancer in childhood is leukemia, i.e. blood cancer, İnan stated that according to the data of the World Health Organization (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC); In 2022, with the number of 64 thousand 566 cases in the 0-14 age range in the world, one third of all cancers seen in childhood will be leukemia. Doğan Bahadır İnan, who said that leukemia constitutes approximately one third of all childhood cancers in our country, similar to the world, said the following in his statement;
“Leukemia is a disease that competes with time and early diagnosis is therefore very important. The reproduction rate of atypical cells that cause leukemia is much faster than the reproduction rate of cells in other cancer types, and they increase the tumor load exponentially within hours. This can seriously threaten the patient's life. Developments in acute leukemia over the last two decades, such as innovations in diagnostic and therapeutic practices, the development of supportive therapies and the introduction of more effective drug combinations, have enabled the selection of patient-specific therapies and the chance to live longer, while providing less chemotherapy toxicity. In some types of leukemia, 80-90 percent of sick children can remain silent for 5 years without recurrence, resulting in complete recovery of these patients.”
Pointing out that the best way to diagnose leukemia early is not to overlook the possible symptoms of the disease in question, Dr. İnan stated that increasing the awareness of parents plays a life-saving role.
Dr. İnan; “The diagnosis can be clarified with the awareness of families and primary health care providers about the symptoms of the disease, accurate and timely clinical evaluation, diagnosis and staging, information and guidance for access to rapid treatment, and blood tests to be performed after suspicion of leukemia. Bone marrow biopsy, special blood tests and genetic tests can then be performed. Symptoms of leukemia can be listed as follows; anemia, susceptibility to infections, frequent illness, high fever, various bleeding and difficulty stopping bleeding, loss of appetite, weight loss, enlargement of the spleen or liver, swelling of the lymph nodes, weakness, palpitations, pain in bones and joints, swelling and limitation of movement. It should be kept in mind that many of these symptoms can also be caused by something other than leukemia, and in fact this is more likely. However, if these symptoms are present, they should be checked by a physician to determine the probable cause and to adjust the treatment.
İHA Haber Kodu: 20241104AW321951