The Presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic announced in a statement that the wife of the Syrian President, Mrs. Asma al-Assad, had been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
Leukemia refers to a cancer that affects the tissues that make up blood in the body, including the bone marrow and lymphatic system.
There are many types of leukemia. Acute myelogenous leukemia is known as one of the most severe types of leukemia in adults, and its incidence increases with age.
Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), also known as acute myeloid leukemia, is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow (the spongy tissue inside the bone in which blood cells are made).
The disease is called myelogenous leukemia because it affects a group of white blood cells, which develop naturally within different types of mature blood cells, such as red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.
The word "acute" in myelogenous leukemia reflects the rapid progression of the disease.
Acute myelogenous leukemia occurs when a bone marrow cell changes its genetic material or DNA.
According to the Mayo Clinic, a cell's DNA contains instructions that direct the cell to perform its specific function, which is to grow at a certain rate and die at a specific time. In the case of acute myelogenous leukemia, mutations direct the bone marrow cell to continue growing and dividing.
When this happens, the body loses control over the blood cell production process. The bone marrow produces immature cells that develop into white blood cells called myeloblasts. These abnormal cells are unable to perform their function properly, and can multiply and crowd out healthy cells.
Symptoms of acute myelogenous leukemia in the early stages of the disease are often flu-like and include:
- fever
- Bone pain
- Lethargy and fatigue
- shortness of breath
- Pale skin
- Recurrent infections
- Easy bruising
- Unusual bleeding, such as frequent nosebleeds and bleeding gums
Given that acute myelogenous leukemia develops rapidly, it is important to begin treatment immediately after diagnosis, and the patient's initial treatment depends on the type of acute myelogenous leukemia and the extent of its spread.
The most prominent treatment methods include chemotherapy, or stem cell or bone marrow transplantation.
It is worth noting that after treatment, most patients recover and continue to show what is known as remission, which is the state of absence of disease activity in a patient known to have a chronic disease that cannot be cured.
However, sometimes the disease can recur, in a condition known as relapse, so patients are often given additional treatment to try to reduce the risk.
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