May 31, 2023 – Once your test comes back negative after a bout of COVID-19, it's an excellent idea to undergo a comprehensive health screening. This is particularly vital for people who find themselves prone to or have blood cancer leukemia.
If you have got blood cancer, you have to have a transparent picture of how strong your immune system is – which is particularly vital if you have got symptoms of long COVID, experts say. That's because most leukemia treatments lead to a style of immunodeficiency, meaning these patients have weakened immune systems and subsequently have difficulty fighting off infections that come together with them.
Several studies have also found a possible link between COVID and leukemia based on patients who developed the disease shortly after contracting COVID.
A study by researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, in addition to Universidade Estadual do Maranhão, Centro Universitário Christus and Universidade Federal do Ceará in Brazil, described how previously healthy young adults were diagnosed after recovering from COVID acute myeloid leukemia, Acute T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia And myelodysplastic syndromewhich progresses to acute myeloid leukemia in around 50% of cases.
And Iranians Research reported a patient who was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia roughly 40 days after COVID and had a severe drop in hemoglobin and platelets. Another study examined the chance that COVID may increase the likelihood of developing Hairy cell leukemia.It is vital to notice that these cases weren't widespread. However, the authors of those studies have really useful further research to find out whether a conclusive, known link might be established between COVID and a subsequent blood cancer diagnosis.
“While significantly more research is needed to show a conclusive connection between the two, data have shown the negative effects of COVID-19 infection in patients with blood cancers,” said Lee Greenberger, PhD, the scientific director of the Leukemia University Lymphoma Society . “What we know for sure is that COVID-19 infection can be very dangerous for people with blood cancers, especially those with B cell-deficient cancers. “We must remain focused on helping them avoid infection and its serious consequences.”
Read on for a more in-depth have a look at how COVID-19 has affected leukemia thus far and the way you'll be able to work together with your doctor to best protect your health based in your specific risk aspects.
What are the symptoms of leukemia?
Leukemia, a cancer of the tissues that make blood in your body, including the bone marrow and lymphatic system, can are available a wide range of forms, as we now have seen. For this reason, symptoms can vary. Symptoms can contain:
- Chills or fever
- Lose weight without trying
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Fatigue that doesn't go away
- Bleeding or bruising is simple
- Night sweats
- Small red spots in your skin
- Your bones feel tender or painful
What are the chance aspects for leukemia?
People are at higher risk of developing leukemia in the event that they:
- You have a family history of the disease
- Are smokers
- You have already received cancer treatment, resembling chemotherapy or radiation
- Having a genetic disorder resembling Down syndrome
- Were exposed to chemicals resembling benzene and formaldehyde at work
How could COVID-19 cause leukemia?
One possible cause is that COVID could cause hematological changes within the weeks following infection, which can reduce cellular immunity in some patients. The authors of the Mount Sinai/Brazilian Hospitals study suggest there may be a possibility that COVID triggers an abnormal immune response within the body that would trigger cell mutations that cause leukemia.
However, no clear reason was found that would explain a connection.
“There could be several hypothetical mechanisms that could be proposed to suggest why and how COVID could ultimately lead to blood cancer,” he said Oscar B. Lahoud, MDa bone marrow transplant and cell therapy specialist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. “This could occur through various stimulations of the immune system and rapid proliferation Mutagenesis [the process by which DNA changes, resulting in a gene mutation]but these mechanisms are not supported by any documented experimental data.”
If you have got COVID, do you have to get checked for leukemia?
“At this point, I would not recommend that any patient with a prior COVID infection be screened for leukemia or other blood cancers,” Lahoud said. “However, regardless of COVID, patients with a strong family history should discuss their potential risks with their doctor [doctors].”
How specifically can COVID affect you if you happen to have already got leukemia?
The treatments and medications you are taking could make a COVID infection harder to manage.
“Many blood cancer therapies are immunosuppressive, thereby inhibiting the ability to cure a COVID-19 infection,” Greenberger said. “Any patient with blood cancer who suspects they have a COVID-19 infection or has tested positive for COVID-19 needs to be spoken to [doctor] immediately.”
And standard COVID treatments should be used with caution.
“There are antiviral therapies that can help you recover from a COVID-19 infection, but they must be given soon after the infection occurs,” Greenberger continued. “If Paxlovid is used, your doctor should consider the effects on other current medications, such as those used to treat your blood cancer. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society has developed one four-stage Information sheet to help patients understand their risk and plan ahead should they become infected.”
At the same time, you don't want to stop your leukemia treatment.
“Data has shown that delaying care for patients with high-risk blood cancers, such as: B. acute leukemia, has led to devastating consequences,” said Lahoud. “However, we can now better treat patients with COVID and concurrent leukemia as therapeutic interventions against COVID have emerged.” These include remdesivir, dexamethasone and monoclonal antibodies.”
The bottom line: Work with your doctor to create a specific plan for your best outcome.
“Some leukemias do not require treatment and can be managed for several years, while others require more rapid initiation of therapy,” Lahoud said. “We can now treat COVID quite effectively and achieve rapid remission of respiratory and constitutional symptoms, so treatment of both conditions is generally possible.”
If you're at high risk of leukemia or have the disease, take precautions related to COVID-19 disease – resembling: Such as wearing a mask in crowds, keeping your distance from sick people, and testing to see if you happen to are feeling sick. Don’t panic – just be proactive.