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Acute Myelogenous Leukemia(HM001)
Introduction
Leukemia is a cancer of the white blood cells and bone marrow. It is characterized by uncontrolled growth of blood cells. There are four major types of leukemia: acute or chronic myelogenous (AML, CML) and acute or chronic lymphocytic (ALL, CLL). The terms myelogenous and lymphocytic denote the type of cell involved.
Acute leukemia is a rapidly progressing disease that results in the accumulation of immature, functionless cells in the marrow and blood. The marrow often can no longer produce enough normal red and white blood cells and platelets.
Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) is the most common type of leukemia in adults with approximately 10,100 new cases every year. AML accounts for just under half of cases of childhood leukemia.
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The Medifocus Guide on Acute Myelogenous Leukemia provides answers to the following important questions and medical issues:
What are the most common symptoms of Acute Myelogenous Leukemia?Are there any recognized risk factors for developing Acute Myelogenous Leukemia?What kinds of medical tests are used to establish the diagnosis of Acute Myelogenous Leukemia?What is the current standard of care for the treatment of Acute Myelogenous Leukemia?What treatment options are available for the management of Acute Myelogenous Leukemia?Are there any promising new developments or potential breakthroughs in treatment?Who are the most notable medical authorities who specialize in Acute Myelogenous Leukemia?Where are the leading hospitals and centers of research for Acute Myelogenous Leukemia?What are the most important questions to ask my doctor about Acute Myelogenous Leukemia?What Your Doctor Reads:
This MediFocus Guide contains an extensive listing of citations and abstracts of recent journal articles that have been published about this condition in trustworthy medical journals. This is the same type of information that is available to physicians and other health care professionals. A partial selection of journal articles that are abstracted in this MediFocus Guide includes:
New strategies for the treatment of acute myelogenous leukemia: differentiation induction--present use and future possibilities.Stem Cells. 2000 Acute myelogenous leukaemia and myelomonocytic blast crisis following polycythemia vera in HIV positive patients: report of cases and review of the literature.Annals of Oncology. 2000 Treatment of acute myelogenous leukemia in older adults.Leukemia. 2000 Treatment of relapsed and refractory acute myelogenous leukemia.Leukemia. 2000 Acute myelogenous leukemia and aging. Clinical interactions.Hematology - Oncology Clinics of North America. 2000 Increased CA 125 serum levels in patients with advanced acute leukemia with serosal involvement.Cancer. 2000 Management of relapsed acute myeloid leukaemia.British Journal of Haematology. 1999 New developments in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia.Advances in Experimental Medicine & Biology. 1999 Tailoring the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia.Current Opinion in Hematology. 1999 Post-transplant acute myeloid leukemia (PT-AML).Leukemia. 1999 MediFocus Guides... When You Need Trustworthy Medical Information
MediFocus.com understands that consumers who are facing serious medical issues need access to credible, up-to-date medical information to help them make informed health-care decisions. That's why we've developed the MediFocus Guides...the most advanced and trustworthy patient research guides for over 200 chronic and life-threatening conditions. Each MediFocus Guide includes a detailed overview of the condition including information about diagnosis, treatment options, cutting-edge research, and new developments; excerpts of important journal articles from the current medical literature focusing on standard treatments and treatment options; a directory of leading authors and medical institutions who specialize in the treatment of the condition; and a listing of organizations and support groups where you can obtain additional information about the illness.
MediFocus Guides are the perfect solution for consumers who wish to gain an in-depth understanding of their medical issue and avail themselves of the same type of professional level medical information that is used by physicians and other health-care professionals to help then in the clinical decision making process.
© Copyright 2000-2001 Medifocus.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia(HM004)
Introduction
Leukemia is a cancer of the white blood cells and bone marrow. It is characterized by uncontrolled growth of blood cells. Acute leukemia is a rapidly progressing disease that results in the accumulation of immature, functionless cells in the marrow and blood. Chronic leukemia progresses more slowly and permits greater numbers of more mature functional cells to be made.
Although leukemia starts in the bone marrow, it can spread to the blood, lymph nodes, spleen, liver, central nervous system (CNS) and other organs.
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) affects the B lymphocytes and causes suppression of the immune system, failure of the bone marrow, and infiltration of malignant cells into organs.
CLL occurs in the elderly with 90% of the cases in persons over the age of 50. The cause of CLL is unknown and there are no known risk factors. The symptoms and the course of CLL progresses slowly and about one-half of people with CLL live for 6 years, and 25% live more than 10 years.
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The Medifocus Guide on Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia provides answers to the following important questions and medical issues:
What are the most common symptoms of chronic lymphocytic leukemia?Are there any recognized risk factors for developing chronic lymphocytic leukemia?What kinds of medical tests are used to establish the diagnosis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia?What is the current standard of care for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia?What treatment options are available for the management of chronic lymphocytic leukemia?Are there any promising new developments or potential breakthroughs in treatment?Who are the most notable medical authorities who specialize in chronic lymphocytic leukemia?Where are the leading hospitals and centers of research for chronic lymphocytic leukemia?What are the most important questions to ask my doctor about chronic lymphocytic leukemia?What Your Doctor Reads:
This MediFocus Guide contains an extensive listing of citations and abstracts of recent journal articles that have been published about this condition in trustworthy medical journals. This is the same type of information that is available to physicians and other health care professionals. A partial selection of journal articles that are abstracted in this MediFocus Guide includes:
Pentostatin (Nipent) and chlorambucil with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor support for patients with previously untreated, treated, and fludarabine-refractory B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia.Seminars in Oncology. 2000 Apoptosis and the pathogenesis of lymphoma.Acta Oncologica. 2000 Management of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.Drugs & Aging. 2000 Stem-cell transplantation for chronic lymphocytic leukemia: the 1999 perspective.Annals of Oncology. 2000 Update on the biology of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.Current Opinion in Oncology. 2000 Clinical characteristics and outcome of young chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients: a single institution study of 204 cases.Blood. 1999 Chronic lymphocytic leukemia.Current Opinion in Hematology. 1999 Uracil mustard revisited.Cancer. 1999 Untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia concurrent with or followed by acute myelogenous leukemia or myelodysplastic syndrome. A report of five cases and review of the literature.American Journal of Clinical Pathology. 1999 Chronic lymphocytic leukemia.Seminars in Oncology. 1999 MediFocus Guides... When You Need Trustworthy Medical Information
MediFocus.com understands that consumers who are facing serious medical issues need access to credible, up-to-date medical information to help them make informed health-care decisions. That's why we've developed the MediFocus Guides...the most advanced and trustworthy patient research guides for over 200 chronic and life-threatening conditions. Each MediFocus Guide includes a detailed overview of the condition including information about diagnosis, treatment options, cutting-edge research, and new developments; excerpts of important journal articles from the current medical literature focusing on standard treatments and treatment options; a directory of leading authors and medical institutions who specialize in the treatment of the condition; and a listing of organizations and support groups where you can obtain additional information about the illness.
MediFocus Guides are the perfect solution for consumers who wish to gain an in-depth understanding of their medical issue and avail themselves of the same type of professional level medical information that is used by physicians and other health-care professionals to help then in the clinical decision making process.
© Copyright 2000-2001 Medifocus.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Hodgkin's Disease(HM006)
Introduction
The lymphatic system includes the lymph nodes and related organs that are part of the body's immune and blood-forming systems. The lymph nodes are small, bean-shaped organs located in the neck, underarm, groin, chest, abdomen, and pelvis. Lymph nodes make and store infection-fighting white blood cells called lymphocytes. They are connected throughout the body by lymph vessels that carry lymphatic fluid containing the lymphocytes.
Cancers of the lymph system (lymphomas) are divided into Hodgkin's disease (HD) and Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. As the cancer cells in HD grow, they can compress, invade, and destroy normal tissue and spread to other tissues either through the lymph system or the bloodstream.
The American Cancer Society has estimated that about 7,400 new cases of HD will be diagnosed in the year 2000. It tends to affect men more often than women. Hodgkin's disease can occur at any age, even in childhood, although there are two periods in which it is more common: between the ages of 15 and 24, and after age 55.
HD is potentially curable even in late stages. Current treatment regimens have achieved long-term disease-free survival in 70-90% of persons with advanced-stage disease and 85-100% of persons with localized disease.
Get the Facts... With your MediFocus Guide
The Medifocus Guide on Hodgkin's Disease provides answers to the following important questions and medical issues:
What are the most common symptoms of Hodgkin's disease?Are there any recognized risk factors for developing Hodgkin's disease?What kinds of medical tests are used to establish the diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease?What is the current standard of care for the treatment of Hodgkin's disease?What treatment options are available for the management of Hodgkin's disease?Are there any promising new developments or potential breakthroughs in treatment?Who are the most notable medical authorities who specialize in Hodgkin's disease?Where are the leading hospitals and centers of research for Hodgkin's disease?What are the most important questions to ask my doctor about Hodgkin's disease?What Your Doctor Reads:
This MediFocus Guide contains an extensive listing of citations and abstracts of recent journal articles that have been published about this condition in trustworthy medical journals. This is the same type of information that is available to physicians and other health care professionals. A partial selection of journal articles that are abstracted in this MediFocus Guide includes:
Human immunodeficiency virus-associated Hodgkin's disease.Seminars in Oncology. 2000 Current treatment of Hodgkin's disease.Critical Reviews in Oncology-Hematology. 2000 The contemporary use of radiation therapy in the management of lymphoma.Surgical Oncology Clinics of North America. 2000 Evidence-based management of Hodgkin's disease: the role of autologous stem cell transplantation.Cancer Control. 2000 Hodgkin's disease.Cancer Journal From Scientific American. 2000 Interventions for early stage Hodgkin's disease in children.Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews [computer file]. 2000 Cerebellopontine angle Hodgkin's disease.Australasian Radiology. 2000 Down syndrome and Hodgkin disease in childhood.Medical & Pediatric Oncology. 2000 Treatment of Hodgkin's disease: results and current concepts of the German Hodgkin's Lymphoma Study Group.Annals of Oncology. 2000 The molecular and cellular origins of Hodgkin's disease.Journal of Experimental Medicine. 2000 MediFocus Guides... When You Need Trustworthy Medical Information
MediFocus.com understands that consumers who are facing serious medical issues need access to credible, up-to-date medical information to help them make informed health-care decisions. That's why we've developed the MediFocus Guides...the most advanced and trustworthy patient research guides for over 200 chronic and life-threatening conditions. Each MediFocus Guide includes a detailed overview of the condition including information about diagnosis, treatment options, cutting-edge research, and new developments; excerpts of important journal articles from the current medical literature focusing on standard treatments and treatment options; a directory of leading authors and medical institutions who specialize in the treatment of the condition; and a listing of organizations and support groups where you can obtain additional information about the illness.
MediFocus Guides are the perfect solution for consumers who wish to gain an in-depth understanding of their medical issue and avail themselves of the same type of professional level medical information that is used by physicians and other health-care professionals to help then in the clinical decision making process.
© Copyright 2000-2001 Medifocus.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
Click here for more information.
MediFocus MedCenter ©
Multiple Myeloma(HM008)
Introduction
Multiple myeloma (MM) is one of several diseases that have been collectively termed "plasma cell dyscrasias" and accounts for 10% of all hematological malignancies.
The immune system is composed of several types of cells that work together to fight off infection and other disease. Lymphocytes are the main cell type of the immune system. There are two types of lymphocytes (T-cells and B-cells). When B-cells respond to an infection, they mature and change into plasma cells which produce and release proteins called immunoglobulins (antibodies) that attack and help kill disease-causing germs such as bacteria.
When plasma cells grow out of control, they can produce tumors that can grow in several sites, especially in the bone marrow (plasmacytomas). When these tumors grow in multiple sites they are referred to as multiple myeloma.
MM is the most common primary cancer of the bones in adults with an annual incidence of 3-4 cases per 100,000 population in the United States. MM is considered to be a disease of older persons, occurring most commonly in those over age 50.
Chemotherapy is the standard treatment to destroy or control myeloma cells. The drugs may be taken orally or intravenously, and are commonly given as combinations of two or more.
The choice of regimen depends on the person's age, kidney function, and the stage of the disease.
Radiation may also be used.
Get the Facts... With your MediFocus Guide
The Medifocus Guide on Multiple Myeloma provides answers to the following important questions and medical issues:
What are the most common symptoms of Multiple Myeloma?Are there any recognized risk factors for developing Multiple Myeloma?What kinds of medical tests are used to establish the diagnosis of Multiple Myeloma?What is the current standard of care for the treatment of Multiple Myeloma?What treatment options are available for the management of Multiple Myeloma?Are there any promising new developments or potential breakthroughs in treatment?Who are the most notable medical authorities who specialize in Multiple Myeloma?Where are the leading hospitals and centers of research for Multiple Myeloma?What are the most important questions to ask my doctor about Multiple Myeloma?What Your Doctor Reads:
This MediFocus Guide contains an extensive listing of citations and abstracts of recent journal articles that have been published about this condition in trustworthy medical journals. This is the same type of information that is available to physicians and other health care professionals. A partial selection of journal articles that are abstracted in this MediFocus Guide includes:
Solitary plasmacytoma of bone and asymptomatic multiple myeloma.Blood. 2000 Progress in haematopoietic stem cell transplantation for multiple myeloma.Journal of Internal Medicine. 2000 The biology of multiple myeloma.Journal of Cancer Research & Clinical Oncology. 2000 Malignant hematopoietic cell lines: in vitro models for the study of multiple myeloma and plasma cell leukemia.Leukemia Research. 2000 Novel therapeutic targets in multiple myeloma.European Journal of Haematology. 2000 Bisphosphonates in multiple myeloma.Cancer. 2000 Introduction: the evolving role of bisphosphonate therapy in multiple myeloma.Blood. 2000 Viewpoint on the impact of interferon in the treatment of multiple myeloma: benefit for a small proportion of patients?.Medical Oncology. 2000 Role of INTERLEUKIN-6 in the pathogenesis of multiple myeloma.Cell Biology International. 2000 Multidrug resistance in haematological malignancies.Journal of Internal Medicine. 2000 MediFocus Guides... When You Need Trustworthy Medical Information
MediFocus.com understands that consumers who are facing serious medical issues need access to credible, up-to-date medical information to help them make informed health-care decisions. That's why we've developed the MediFocus Guides...the most advanced and trustworthy patient research guides for over 200 chronic and life-threatening conditions. Each MediFocus Guide includes a detailed overview of the condition including information about diagnosis, treatment options, cutting-edge research, and new developments; excerpts of important journal articles from the current medical literature focusing on standard treatments and treatment options; a directory of leading authors and medical institutions who specialize in the treatment of the condition; and a listing of organizations and support groups where you can obtain additional information about the illness.
MediFocus Guides are the perfect solution for consumers who wish to gain an in-depth understanding of their medical issue and avail themselves of the same type of professional level medical information that is used by physicians and other health-care professionals to help then in the clinical decision making process.
© Copyright 2000-2001 Medifocus.com, Inc. All rights reserved
Click here for more information.
MediFocus MedCenter ©
Sickle Cell Anemia(HM012)
Introduction
Sickle cell disease (CSD) is an inherited blood disorder, characterized primarily by chronic anemia and periodic episodes of pain. The underlying problem involves hemoglobin, a component of the red cells in the blood. The hemoglobin molecules in each red blood cell carry oxygen from the lungs to the body organs and tissues and bring back carbon dioxide to the lungs.
By occluding blood vessels sickle cells cause vascular injury. This vaso-occlusion, which is responsible for most of the severe complications of sickle cell disease, can occur wherever blood flows. This process produces the periodic episodes of pain and ultimately can damage the tissues and vital organs and lead to other serious medical problems.
One of every 600 African Americans in the United States has sickle cell anemia. Fortunately, because of significant advances in treatment and preventive care, persons with sickle cell disease now survive into their fifth and sixth decades.
Health maintenance is extremely important in SCD and must include measures to prevent specific disease complications or at least to facilitate their diagnosis and minimize their impact.
Management of a crisis involves control of pain, maintenance of adequate hydration, and treatment of any underlying precipitating factors.
Get the Facts... With your MediFocus Guide
The Medifocus Guide on Sickle Cell Anemia provides answers to the following important questions and medical issues:
What are the most common symptoms of sickle cell anemia?Are there any recognized risk factors for developing sickle cell anemia?What kinds of medical tests are used to establish the diagnosis of sickle cell anemia?What is the current standard of care for the treatment of sickle cell anemia?What treatment options are available for the management of sickle cell anemia?Are there any promising new developments or potential breakthroughs in treatment?Who are the most notable medical authorities who specialize in sickle cell anemia?Where are the leading hospitals and centers of research for sickle cell anemia?What are the most important questions to ask my doctor about sickle cell anemia?What Your Doctor Reads:
This MediFocus Guide contains an extensive listing of citations and abstracts of recent journal articles that have been published about this condition in trustworthy medical journals. This is the same type of information that is available to physicians and other health care professionals. A partial selection of journal articles that are abstracted in this MediFocus Guide includes:
Sickle cell disease in childhood: Part I. Laboratory diagnosis, pathophysiology and health maintenance.American Family Physician. 2000 Reactive species in sickle cell disease.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 2000 Blockade of adhesion of sickle cells to endothelium by monoclonal antibodies.New England Journal of Medicine. 2000 Screening for sickle cell disease and thalassaemia: a systematic review with supplementary research.Health Technology Assessment (South Hampton, NY). 2000 The management of pain in sickle cell disease.Pediatric Clinics of North America. 2000 Lessons from the Stroke Prevention Trial in Sickle Cell Anemia (STOP) study.Journal of Child Neurology. 2000 Laparoscopic splenectomy for splenic sequestration crisis.AORN Journal. 2000 Neonatal screening for sickle cell disease.Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews [computer file]. 2000 Prophylactic versus selective blood transfusion for sickle cell anaemia during pregnancy.Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews [computer file]. 2000 Sickle hemoglobin (HbS) allele and sickle cell disease: a HuGE review.American Journal of Epidemiology. 2000 MediFocus Guides... When You Need Trustworthy Medical Information
MediFocus.com understands that consumers who are facing serious medical issues need access to credible, up-to-date medical information to help them make informed health-care decisions. That's why we've developed the MediFocus Guides...the most advanced and trustworthy patient research guides for over 200 chronic and life-threatening conditions. Each MediFocus Guide includes a detailed overview of the condition including information about diagnosis, treatment options, cutting-edge research, and new developments; excerpts of important journal articles from the current medical literature focusing on standard treatments and treatment options; a directory of leading authors and medical institutions who specialize in the treatment of the condition; and a listing of organizations and support groups where you can obtain additional information about the illness.
MediFocus Guides are the perfect solution for consumers who wish to gain an in-depth understanding of their medical issue and avail themselves of the same type of professional level medical information that is used by physicians and other health-care professionals to help then in the clinical decision making process.
© Copyright 2000-2001 Medifocus.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
Click here for more information.