5Treatment Options for Leukemia
Chemotherapy
The main treatment option for acute leukemia is chemotherapy. For chronic lymphocytic leukemia, doctors may combine it with a monoclonal antibody. Chemotherapy can also help people with chronic myeloid leukemia when targeted therapy is not effective as expected. This procedure works by killing cancer cells, but it can also affect healthy cells in the body. Therefore, several common side effects may occur, such as hair loss, tissue damage, bone marrow suppression, red urine, mouth sores, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, tumor lysis syndrome, or peripheral neuropathy. [6]
Targeted Therapy
Targeted therapy uses medications to target and attack cancer cells. Different from other drugs used in chemotherapy, which may kill both healthy and cancer cells, medications used in targeted therapy only detect and control leukemia cells. Therefore, it may reduce the risk of side effects. Keep in mind that targeted therapy does not cure leukemia. Instead, it only keeps cancer cells in check for several years or decades. A doctor may use targeted therapy along or combine it with other treatment options, such as radiation therapy, surgery, or chemotherapy. Common side effects include liver issues, diarrhea, high blood pressure, mouth sores, fatigue, hair loss, and more. [7]
