Stem cell transplant article

Hi everybody, I just thought I should share an article with you:

" Stem cell transplants improve survival for some leukemia patients: study

Stem cell transplants improve survival among people with a common form of leukemia, researchers said Tuesday.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the most common form of acute leukemia.

It is usually treated with chemotherapy to produce a first remission, which nearly 70 per cent of patients under the age of 60 achieve, researchers said.

Not every cancer cell is eradicated, however, so relapses can occur, since the blood and bone marrow haven't been restored to normal, said study author John Koreth of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. "

You can read the rest of the article here:

 http://www.oncologyjournal.org/blogs/admin/526-stem-cell-tra

Hope you find this as informative as I did!

Hi,

My son (29) was diagnosed with AML in April 2009.  He is in the intermediate group of cytogenic indicators.  The article indicates that transplants produce better survival rates than chemo alone, but I'm concerned about the long term complications that the megadoses of chemo and full body radiation can bring about.

Maybe the transplant can give an edge in getting rid of the AML, but what about liver damage or future outbreaks of cancer in other organs?  The survival odds aren't that great WITH the transplant.  My son is concerned about trading a (possible) small increase in survival rate for a future of liver failure and/or cancer caused by the chemo/radiation. 

It's not really much of a choice.